PRICE,    35    CENTS, 

r 


E 

S/-5  HISTORY 


1.6 

COMPANY    E 


OF    THE 


SIXTH   MINNESOTA    REGIMENT 

OF   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 

UC-NRLF 


bl    717 

J.  HILL. 


WITH    AN    APPENDIX    BY 

CAPT.  CHARLES   J.  STEES. 


PUBLISHED    BY 


PROF.    T.    H.    LEWIS. 


St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

PIONEER  PRESS  Co. 

1899. 


HISTORY 


OF 


COMPANY    E 


SIXTH   MINNESOTA    REGIMENT 

OF    VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 


ALFRED    J.  HILL. 


WITH    AN    APPENDIX    BY 

CAPT.  CHARLES   J.  STEES 


PUBLISHED     BY 


PROF.    T.    H.    LEWIS, 


St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

PIONEER  PRESS  Co. 

1899. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1899,  by 

PROF.  T.  H.  LEWIS, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 

It  will  be  remembered  by  those  connected  with  the  military  serv 
ice  that,  towards  the  end  of  the  late  Civil  War,  there  went  through 
the  camps  and  barracks  of  the  volunteer  soldiers  agents  of  publish 
ing  houses  busily  engaged  in  procuring  material  for  "company  his 
tories,"  and  still  more  anxiously  soliciting  subscriptions  for  the 
same.  These  histories  were  mere  broadsides  or  charts,  giving  the 
name  and  rank  of  each  man,  with  a  few  other  personal  facts,  com 
piled  from  the  muster  rolls,  and  in  addition  an  abstract  of  campaign 
movements,  battles,  and  so  forth;  all  the  information  being  brought 
up  to  date  of  subscription.  Of  course  as  permanent  and  final 
records  such  publications  would  be  failures,  there  being  no  "next" 
in  which  to  "conclude"  their  stories. 

While  the  Sixth  Minnesota  Infantry  Regiment  lay  at  New 
Orleans,  one  of  the  visitations  described  occurred  to  it  (this  being  a 
very  successful  one),  and  thereupon  a  member  of  Company  E  pro 
posed  to  a  comrade  the  getting  up  of  something  of  the  kind  among 
themselves,  to  be  of  home  manufacture.  Time  permitting,  rt^he 
work  was  then  commenced,  continued  in  the  field,  and  kept  up  with 
current  events  till  the  order  for  return  home  of  the  command  to 
which  the  company  belonged.  Serious  illness  of  the  compiler,  and 
the  scattering  of  the  members  of  the  company,  prevented  the  finish 
ing  of  the  work  at  the  intended  time,  and  caused  its  indefinite  post 
ponement. 

As  a  contribution,  though  humble,  to  material  for  some  future 
history  of  the  part  taken  by  Minnesota  in  the  war  for  the  Union  this 
little  book  ha-s  been  completed  and  published,  and  the  writer  would 
be  greatly  pleased  if  its  appearance  should  stimulate  the  necessary 
research  for  the  putting  on  record  in  somewhat  similar  form  of  the 
histories  of  other  companies  of  our  state  regiments. 

ALFRED  J.  HILL. 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  1869. 


368635 


PART  I. 
ORIGIN  AND  ORGANIZATION— 1862. 

In  the  spring  of  1802  a  sixth  regiment  of  infantry  had  been 
called  for  from  Minnesota  by  the  Governor  of  the  State,  but,  from 
various  causes,  the  enlistments  proceeded  very  languidly  till  the 
disasters  of  the  Virginian  armies  in  the  summer  and  the  consequent 
proclamations  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  volunteers 
gave  an  immense  impulse  to  recruiting. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  was  that  the  "Sigel  Guards,"  after 
wards  Company  E  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  were  projected  and 
raised.  In  the  month  of  June,  Mathias  Holl,  of  St.  Paul, 
was  authorized  to  recruit  for  the  proposed  company;  and  on  the 
23d  of  July,  twenty  men  having  been  enlisted,  he  received  a  regular 
recruiting  commission.  Rudolph  Schoenemann  and  Christian  Exel, 
of  the  same  city,  also  engaged  in  the  work  in  connection  with  Lieu 
tenant  Holl,  themselves  enlisting  in  the  company  on  the  (Vth  and 
14th  of  August,  respectively.  Many  of  the  members,  howrever,  were 
not  obtained  particularly  by  these  gentlemen,  some  having  been  re 
cruited  for  other  companies  or  regiments  and  transferred  involun 
tarily  to  the  Si  gel  Guards,  others  wha  had  purposed  enlisting  in 
other  companies — that  never  were  filled — having  joined  it  of  their 
own  accord,  while  a  large  proportion  acted  as  their  own  recruiting 
officers,  and  made  it  their  first  choice.  The  names  of  those  re 
cruited  for,  or  who  intended  to  join,  other  organizations,  are  as  fol 
lows,  viz.:  (1)  Beckendorf,  Besecke,  Detert,  Gropel,  Mahle,  Mann, 
Metz,  J.  J.  Mueller,  Schaefer,  Simon,  and  Temme,  were  to  have  be 
longed  to  the  company  projected  by  Messrs.  Klinkenfus,  Knauft, 
and  Krueger,  of  Lower  Town,  St.  Paul  They  joined  in  a  body.  (2) 
Bast,  Blesius,  Blessner,  Dreis,  Fandel,  Greibler,  Hoscheid,  and 
Neierburg  were  enlisted  August  15th  by  Messrs.  Julius  Gross  and 
Lieutenant  Kreitz,  of  St.  Paul,  for  the  Tenth  Regiment,  but  were 
transferred  to  the  Sixth.  (3)  George  Paulson,  a  recruit  for  L.  C. 
1  >ayton's  company  (St.  Paul)  for  the  Eighth  Regiment,  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  Sixth.  (4)  John,  Kilian,  Kraemer,  Meyer,  Praxl,  and 
Radke  came  to  Fort  Snelling  from  Winona,  as  recruits  for  the  Sev 
enth  Regiment,  but  enlisted  instead  in  the  Sigel  Guards.  All  the 
recruits  were  enlisted  and  sworn  in  as  privates  except  the  drummer, 
the  period  of  enlistment  being  "for  three  years  unless  sooner  dis 
charged." 

The  general  rendezvous  was  at  Fort  Snelling,  and,  the  "mini- 
num"  number  (83)  having  been  obtained,  the  company  was  pro 
visionally  organized  there,  on  the  IGth  of  August,  by  the  enlisted 


8 


HTSTOEY   OF   COMPANY   E, 


men  expressing,  by  vote,  their  preference  for  candidates  to  till  the 
commissioned  ollires,  and  bvthe  captain,  then  chosen. appointing  the 
non-COmmissioned  officers.  SHinrm-mjuin  and  Holl  were  thus 
respectively  elected  captain  and  second  lieutenant  of  the  Si  gel 
Guards,  and  were  commissioned  as  such,  on  the  19th,  by  the  Gov 
ernor  of  the  State,  and  Lieutenant  Exel,  already  commissioned  (Au 
gust  1  It  In,  accepted  as  first  lieutenant. 

l.v  the  19th  of  August  the  aggregate  number  of  members  was 
94;  their  names,  rank,  etc.,  being  shown  in  the  following  roll : 


NAME 

NATIVE  COUNTRY 

When 
Enliated 
1862 

OFFICERS. 

Captain— 
*  R  u  do  1  ]>h    Sch  oe  n  e  m  n  n  11 

Prussia  

\iirr        14 

Firsr  Lieu  tt  -a  ant 
Christian   Kxel 

jjpjsgQ  Darmstadt 

\iirr            (? 

Second  Lieutenant— 
Mathias    Holl     ... 

jj^p^g  Darmstadt 

July     °3 

First  8  eraca  n  t  — 
Justus  B    Bell  

Ohio  

Aug.      4 

Second  Serycant  — 
G-poi'^v   Iluhn 

J  Bavaria 

Auu'        7 

Third  Nf/v/r///// 
*  Frederick    Scheer 

Prussia 

.lulv     4>3 

Fourth  Xn-i/cant— 
Ernst  T    Knobelsdorff 

Prussia 

.lulv     2U 

Fifth  Hen/rant— 
*Elias   Siebert 

Hesse  Cassel  

AUL'.       12 

First  Corporal  — 
*  Pa  ul  P   Huth 

Prussia 

June    l.'i 

Second  Corporal-- 
John    Burch 

Prussia  

Aug.    13 

Third  Cor  port/  1^ 
*  M  "it  hi  'is    Mueller 

Prussia  

Aug.      5 

1'onrtli  Corporal— 
*  William   Rohde 

Hesse  Cassel  

Aug.      '2 

/•'/////   Corporal—                                      .    " 
I'cter   Iji'itiK1!" 

Bavaria  

Aug.      6 

Si.rtlt    Corporal  — 
Ileiuh'ird  Stiefel 

Prussia  

Aug.      7 

Sr  re  nlli    Corporal  — 
(  j  (>o]'<«-(i    j^-j  \i(*\* 

Bavaria  

Aug.      7 

llii/litli  Corporal— 
Kiclrird    Alueller 

Prussia  

Aug.      8 

Musician— 

*r'li'i  ]•!(><<   Soidel 

Prussia  

.lulv       t) 

Privates— 

Ba^t     William                          

Luxemburg  

Aug.    15 

Beck  ond<  n"f    Peter  H 

Prussia.    ...                   

Vug.     14 

T^pf'l'pv      Af'it'lii'm 

Prussia 

Vug      13 

Besecke     I-'erdinaud  

Prussia  

Aug.     14 

Bl(is<iu^     Tohn 

Prussia  

Vuur     ir» 

Blesisnoi*     Charles 

Luxemburg 

Vu"     1"» 

B(M's     M  ichael                                    .  .  . 

I  >:ivaria  .... 

June    1- 

UrNtle    Christi'Ui 

Baden 

\u°-       4 

1  M'l  »M't        I  1  1  M  1  1'\" 

Prussia 

Vtrr     34 

1  Mvis     \  id  iola  *< 

I  .uxeiuburir 

Vug     15 

*Eberdt.  Charles.  . 

Mcrklenburtr.  . 

Aug.    13 

*In  military  service  before. 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 


NAME 

NATIVE  COUNTRY 

When 
Enlisted 
1862 

Privates  — 
Eheim,  Joseph  

Austria  

Aug     14 

Fandel,  Henry  

Luxemburg  

\ug     15 

*Ferlein   Joseph 

Bavaria 

June      '^ 

Fischer    Louis 

SAvitzerlaud 

\.u<f     K> 

Gabjeen    Samuel 

Canada  

Ail"-     14 

*Gantneim    Jacob 

S\vitzerland  

June    10 

Goldner    Joseph 

Prussia  

July     23 

Griebler    Joseph 

Prussia 

AVIO-     15 

*Gro<pel    Henry  

Prussia  

Aug     14 

Halm,  F.  Carl  

Wiirteiriberg  

July     23 

Harrfeldt    August 

Holsteiri  

July     28 

Ha  nek     Jacob 

Baden  

Aug     14 

*Hellmann,   Herman  

Prussia  

Aug       9 

Henricks,  Frederick  

Prussia  

July     28 

Henricks    Henry 

Prussia 

4LU0"       o 

Hill   Alfred  J 

England 

Aug     14 

Hill   William   \ 

Virginia 

July     '^2 

H  oscli  ei  d     N  i  c  ho'la  s 

Luxemburg 

A  110-     15 

Jakobi    Conrad                 .  .          .... 

Hesse  Darmstadt 

July     1  S 

John    Jacol) 

Bremen  .    .          .... 

A  110-     ie 

*Juergens    Louis  

Waldeck  

\u°"     16 

*Kellermanm,    August  

Prussia  

Au01     14 

Kernen    Jacob           

Sxvitzerland 

Aiio-        14 

Kilian    Philip                   

Hesse  Darmstadt 

Aug     IS 

*Klinghatmmer    Louis  

Prussia 

July       9 

*K.obelitz    Fredecrick  

Bremen 

Tulv     ^8 

*Koenig    Louis  

Baden  

Auo-     12 

*Kraemer     Frederick  

Wurtemberg.  . 

•Vug     18 

*Krue°"er    Heni*y 

Schleswi0* 

A  iio'        15 

Malilei    William  

Wurtemberg  

Aug     14 

Mann    Jacob  

Wurtemberg  

Aug     14 

*  "M  a  rt  i  n     F  r  ederi  ck 

Prussia 

A  no-      id 

Aletz    Charles                                .... 

Hauoyer 

Ano1      14 

Maurer,  John  J  

Prussia 

All0"     13 

Meyer,  John  H  

Ohio  

Aug     18 

Mneckenhausen,   Joseph  
Mueckenhausen,  Mathias  
Mueller,  John  Jacob  

Prussia  
Prussia  
Wurtemberg  

Aug.     14 
Aug.     14 
AITS'     14 

Munson    John.  .        .        

Sweden 

Tmif*     *>fi 

Xeierburg     Michael  

Luxemburg 

Aiip-      IP; 

Parks,  Thomas  M  
*tPaulson,  George  

Pennsylvania  
Prussia 

June    13 

Tnlv      0<>i 

Paulson,  Paul  

Norway 

Tnnip     If! 

Peterson,   Ole  

Norway 

Tiilv      98 

Porth,  William  

Prussia 

Praxl,  Anthony  A  

Austria 

Aiio-        IX 

Radke,  Rudolph  

Prussia 

A  no1       1  ^ 

Rehse.  August  

Prussia 

A  iip-            i 

*Reimers,  Joachim  
*Reuter,  Henry  

Holstein  
Hanover 

Aug.     13 
Tnlv      9'? 

Rossion,  Jean  i 

Belgium  

July     31 

Schafer,  Henry  ! 

Ca  tiada 

AIIO-     14. 

Schauer,  August  

Prussia 

Scheibel,  Augustin  

France 

-\u,4.       -± 
Ana-       1^ 

Schene,  William  

Hanover 

^  i  lg  .       J  O 
A1!0"       1'-* 

Schermann,  George  

Austria.  . 

Aiiff.     11 

,Tms  young  man  s  real  name  was  Paul  Bierstach,  the  other  having  been  assumed 
to  enable  him  to  get  sworn  in  without  his  parents'  consent 
*In  military  service  before. 


10 


HISTORY  OF  COMPANY   E, 


NAME. 

NATIVE  COUNTRY. 

When 
Enlisted 
1862 

Aug.    16 
Aug     14 
Aug.    14 
Aug.    19 
July     23 
July     16 
Aug.    14 
Aug.      5 
June    10 
June      2 

Private*  — 

^sflmon  lipitpr    T^rpdprick 

I'nissia  

i*i  ussia    

Fr;.'i)<je  

^Tiiith    AVilli*nn  A 

Indiana           

^Di'oGssGr  "\VillicLin  D 

Wurtetuberg  

YV\iiit(inil)L>r"'                 

Wetterau,  Louis  
Willialms,  August  
*  Wolf    Anton                                    •  •  . 

Wisconsin  
S\vi'<len  
Prussia  

*In  military  service  before. 

With  the  exception  of  less  than  half  a  dozen,  all  of  the  above 
were  residents  of  Minnesota,  fifty-four  being  from  St.  Paul,  eight 
from  Winona,  and  the  remainder  from  other  parts  of  the  state. 
Twenty-four  of  the  members  had  been  soldiers  previously,  many  of 
them  having  seen  active  service — seventeen  in  Europan  armies,  one 
in  the  United  States  regulars,  and  six  in  the  United  States  volun 
teer  forces.  Wolf — then  a  boy  of  sixteen — enlisted  in  Bulow's 
Army  Corps,  fought  at  Quatre  Bias,  and  was  present  at  the  battle 
of  Waterloo. 


SIXTH   MINNESOTA   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  11 

PART  2. 

SERVICES  IX  MINNESOTA  AGAINST  THE  SIOUX  INDIANS 

-1862-63. 

Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  company  the  usual 
recruit  life  began.  Military  clothing  and  equipments  were  issued, 
squad  drill  commenced,  and  light  guard  duty  done  in  and  around  the 
fort.  The  quarters  of  the  company  were  two  rooms  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  parade  grounds,  with  a  kitchen  and  dining  room  below. 
Fritz  Stirneman,  a  civilian,  but  an  ex-soldier  of  the  First  Regiment, 
assisted  by  Rossion,  was  hired  to  do  the  cooking. 

The  monotony  of  barrack  life,  however,  did  not  last  long.  The 
news  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Sioux  Indians  in  the  western  part  of  the 
state  turned  all  thoughts  from  anticipations  of  Southern  campaigns 
to  the  necessities  of  the  hour.  The  regiment  was  put  on  a  war  foot 
ing,  orders  to  march  were  issued,  and  arms  and  accoutrements  sup 
plied  to  the  men;  four  Sibley  tents  being  allowed  for  the  enlisted 
men  of  each  company.  On  the  20th  of  August  the  first  battalion  of 
the  Sixth  Regiment,  consisting  of  three  companies,  left  Fort  Snell- 
ing  for  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  and,  together  with  Company  A, 
which  had  been  ordered  to  march  across  the  country,  arrived  at  St. 
Peter  on  the  22nd.  All  being  ready,  the  second  battalion,  including 
Company  E,  embarked  on  the  evening  of  the  22nd,  on  the  steamboat 
Wilson  for  the  upper  Minnesota  River.  At  the  time  of  embarkation 
the  aggregate  strength  of  the  company  was  94,  the  number  present 
being  84;  the  absentees  being  Lieutenant  Exel,  on  recruiting  service; 
John,  Harrfeldt,  Kraemer,  Martin,  Meyer,  Praxl,  and  Radke,  on  fur 
lough;  Dreis  and  Fandel,  who  had  not  yet  joined;  and  Porth,  left  be 
hind  at  the  fort  on  account  of  inability  to  march. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23rd  we  disembarked  at  Shakopee, 24  miles 
from  the  fort.  From  this  day  commenced  the  official  organization 
of  the  regiment,  it  being  the  date  of  Colonel  William  Crooks'  com 
mission.  The  route  followed  was  through  Jordan,  Belle  Plaine,  and 
Henderson,  to  St.  Peter,  where  we  arrived  on  the  24th.  All  the 
companies  of  the  Sixth  wTere  now  concentrated  at  this  point,  where 
an  expeditionary  force  was  collecting  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Ridgley, 
then  sorely  pressed  by  the  Indians.  On  the  26th  the  expedition 
commenced  the  march,  and  arrived  at  the  fort  on  the  28th;  the  regi 
ment  encamping  on  the  prairie  near  by. 

H.  Henricks  was  appointed  wagoner  of  the  company  on  the  30th. 
Also  on  that  day  Louis  Thiele,  a  Prussian  settler  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  whose  family  had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians,  enlisted  in 
the  company  as  a  private. 


12 

On  the  31st  an  expedition  under  the  command  of  Major  Joseph 
R.  Brown,  consisting  of  the  Union  Guards  (Company  A),  under  Cap 
tain  Grant,  and  a  detail  of  men  from  the  other  companies  of  the 
Sixth  Regiment,  and  the  Cullen  Guards  under  Captain  Anderson, 
was  dispatched  to  the  Lower  Agency  to  bury  the  dead,  and  ascer 
tain  if  possible  the  position  of  the  enemy. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  September  2nd,  rapid  firing  was  heard 
in  the  direction  of  the  Agency.  The  scouts  reported  that  the  de 
tachment  under  Major  Brown  was  attacked  and  surrounded  at 
Birch  Coolie,  20  miles  from  the  fort  and  3  miles  from  the  Lower 
Agency.  A  second  detachment  under  Colonel  McPhail,  consisting 
of  the  Hickory  Guards  (Company  B),  Sigel  Guards  (Company  E), 
Young  Men's  Guard  (Company  G),  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  under 
Major  McLaren,  also  some  cavalry  and  one  howitzer  under  Captain 
Mark  Hendricks,  was  at  once  sent  forward  to  their  relief.  When 
within  three  miles  of  the  beleaguered  force,  the  demonstrations  of 
the  Indians  became  so  threatening — coming  near  enough  to  shoot 
one  of  the  horses — that  the  commander  of  the  relieving  party,  not 
daring  to  fight  his  way  through,  made  a  halt,  had  the  horses  un 
hitched,  and  disposed  the  men  to  meet  the  expected  attack,  but,  as 
the  enemy  did  not  return  any  nearer  to  us,  we  shortly  fell  back  some 
distance  to  a  better  position.  Xight  soon  came  on  and  it  was  spent 
watchfully  by  the  men  behind  their  corralled  wagons,  the  silence 
being  broken  only  by  the  occasional  firing  of  the  howitzer.  The 
firing  had  been  heard  at  the  fort  and  towards  morning  the  little 
force  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  the  remainder  of  the  Sixth 
Regiment,  the  Seventh  Regiment,  which  had  just  arrived  at  the  fort, 
and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  About  daylight  on  the  3rd,  the  com 
bined  forces  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  ready  to  move;  the  In 
dians  soon  appeared  and  commenced  the  attack,  but  the  return  fire 
was  so  heavy,  and  evidently  so  unexpected,  that  they  almost  imme 
diately  retreated  to  the  woods  in  the  coolie,  from  which  they 
were  driven  by  the  heavy  fire  delivered  by  the  artillery.  The  In 
dians  having  been  repulsed,  the  whole  force  continued  their  march 
to  Birch  Coolie  camp,  and  the  Indians  then  abandoned  the  attack  of 
the  party  there,  though  the  soldiers  of  the  first  relieving  party  were 
not  allowed  the  honor  of  driving  them,  which  was  given  to  the 
Seventh  Regiment.  After  burying  the  dead  and  attending  to  the 
wounded,  the  troops  returned  to  their  camp  at  Fort  Ridgley. 

Five  men  of  the  company  were  with  the  orignal  detachment  at 
the  battle  of  Birch  Coolie.  R.  Mueller  and  Klinghammer  were  se 
verely  wounded,  the  fomer  in  the  side  and  arm,  and  the  latter  in 
the  leg.  They  were  cared  for  at  the  post  hospital.  Dreis  and 
Fandel  were  there,  having  accompanied  the  volunteer  cavalry  from 
St.  Paul;  Dreis  joined  on  the  4th  and  Fandel,  being  wounded  in  the 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  13 

hand,  went  to  the  hospital.  Thiele,  too,  was  present  at  this  fight. 
About  this  time  Lieutenant  Exel  with  the  seven  furloughed  Winona 
men  returned. 

Shortly  after  this  affair  the  order  of  the  adjutant  general  of  the 
state  was  received  and  published,  fixing  the  letters  of  the  companies 
according  to  the  rank  of  the  respective  captains.  The  Sigel  Guards 
were  the  fifth  company,  and  so  became  E ;  in  position  it  was  there 
fore  the  seventh  from  the  right  wing  of  the  regiment,  and  had, 
when  marching  during  the  summer,  Company  A  of  the  Ninth  Regi 
ment  in  front,  and  Company  K  of  the  Sixth  in  the  rear. 

While  preparations  for  the  campaign  were  progressing,  the 
troops  were  drilled  daily  in  the  "school  of  the  soldier"  and  "of  the 
company;"  and,  among  other  things,  trenches  wrere  dug  at  the  fort, 
and  beyond  the  camps.  About  the  middle  of  the  month  Eberdt  was 
detailed  as  regimental  pioneer. 

On  the  18th  of  the  month  the  expeditionary  force  took  up  the 
line  of  march  from  its  base  at  Fort  Ridgley.  Crossing  at  the  ferry 
near  by,  the  route  pursued  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Minnesota 
River,  fording  the  Red  Wood  at  the  usual  place,  and  touching  Wood 
Lakes,  about  three  miles  from  Yellow  Medicine,  wrhich  was  reached 
on  the  22nd.  On  the  morning  of  the  23rd  the  Indians  surprised 
a  foraging  party  half  a  mile  distant  from  the  camp.  The  Third 
Regiment  formed  in  line,  and,  crossing  a  ravine,  opened  fire  on  the 
Indians,  but  immediately  received  orders  to  fall  back.  The  Third 
recrossed  the  ravine,  and,  the  Renville  Rangers  corning  to  their 
support,  the  Indian  advance  was  checked.  Captain  Hendricks 
placed  his  artillery  in  a  raking  position  at  the  head  of  the  ravine, 
and  soon  dislodged  the  enemy.  On  the  right,  Colonel  Marshall 
with  five  companies  of  the  Seventh  Regiment,  and  Companies  A 
and  I  of  the  Sixth  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill,  charged  and 
drove  the  Indians  from  their  position.  On  the  left,  a  similar  flank 
movement  was  repelled  by  Major  McLaren  with  Companies  F  and 
K  of  the  Sixth,  while  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  was  held  in  re 
serve.  The  action  lasted  about  two  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time, 
the  Indians  being  unable  to  withstand  the  murderous  fire  of  shot 
and  shell  rained  upon  them,  fled  with  great  precipitation,  and  thus 
ended  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake.  The  whole  plan  of  battle  seems  to 
have  been  of  defense,  fought  on  the  old  lines  of  chivalry — man  for 
man,  instead  of  bringing  all  the  troops  in  line  of  action  and  dealing 
the  enemy  a  crushing  blow  at  the  beginning.  This  mode  of  action 
may  have  been  very  nice  from  an  Indian's  point  of  view,  but  the 
men  in  the  reserve  who  stood  in  line  of  battle  for  nearly  two  hours, 
and  those  engaged  at  the  front  who  were  held  back  and  not  allowed 
to  drive  the  enemy,  would  have  preferred  a  little  less  chivalry  and  a 
few  more  dead  Indians. 


14  HISTOBY   OF   COMPANY   E, 

On  the  25th  the  line  of  march  was  again  taken  up,  and  on  the 
2<;th  we  arrived  at  the  camp  of  the  "so-called"  friendly  Indians, 
where  were  most  of  the  white  captives  taken  during  the  insur 
rection,  and  who  in  a  day  or  two  were  delivered  up.  This  place  was 
nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Chippewa  River,  and  near  by, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  the  Minnesota  Eiver,  was  formed 
the  camp  ever  afterwards  to  be  known  in  local  history  as  Camp  Re 
lease,  from  this  memorable  surrender  of  captives  there. 

On  the  4th  of  October,  Captain  Whitney,  with  twro  companies  of 
the  Sixth  and  one  from  the  Seventh,  wras  sent  below  in  charge  of 
the  Indian  prisoners  to  gather  the  crops  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Yel 
low  Medicine  Agency.  On  the  5th  all  the  company  present,  91  in 
number,  wrere  mustered  into  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States,  "for  three  years  from  their  respective  dates  of  enrollment." 
On  the  13th,  Colonel  Marshall  was  sent  to  the  westward  with  a  de 
tachment  consisting  of  Company  G  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  100  men 
of  the  Third,  and  one  howitzer,  in  quest  of  the  Indians  reported  to 
be  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Lac  qui  Parle  River  and  Two  Lakes 
(Mde-nonpana)  in  the  Coteaus.  The  expedition  returned  on  the 
21st,  having  penetrated  the  prairies  nearly  to  the  James  River,  and 
having  in  charge  about  150  Indian  prisoners,  including  men,  women 
and  children. 

By  company  order  of  September  22nd,  Corporal  Huth  was  pro 
moted  to  fifth  sergeant,  and  Privates  J.  Smith  and  Martin  appointed 
seventh  and  eighth  corporals,  respectively.  On  October  13th  war 
rants  bearing  the  same  date  were  made  out  and  signed  by  the 
colonel  for  all  the  non-commissioned  officers,  making  the  grades 
agree  with  said  order,  but  causing  them  to  take  effect  from  the  18th 
of  August.  On  the  14th  Company  F  left  for  YellowT  Medicine  to 
reinforce  Captain  Whitney.  On  the  night  of  the  15th,  Captain 
Merriman,  w7ith  Company  B  and  35  mounted  men  (including  25 
scouts),  made  a  raid  beyond  the  lower  Lac  qui  Parle,  and  captured 
23  lodges,  in  all  07  Indians.  On  the  18th  W.  A.  Hill  rejoined. 
While  at  Campt  Release  the  duty  performed  was  chiefly  guarding 
the  Indian  prisoners,  foraging,  and  serving  on  camp  guard, — a  very 
strict  and  irksome  one.  Company  drill  in  the  morning  and  bat 
talion  drill  in  the  afternoon  were  also  required. 

Though  within  sixty  miles  of  depots  of  supplies,  and  though  the 
majority  of  the  fighting  men  of  the  insurgent  Indians  had  eilhrr 
been  captured,  or  had  surrendered,  or  retreated  further  up  the  Min 
nesota  river,  the  rank  and  file  of  this  small  army  had  here  to  suffer 
for  the  want  of  commissary  stores, — truly  following  the  advice 
of  the  ancient  philosopher  to  leave  off  eating  with  yet  a  little  appe 
tite.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  potatoes  of  the  Indian  gardens  and 
cattle  of  the  slaughtered  and  fugitive  settlers — which  provisions, 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  15 

though  costing  nothing  to  the  government  at  the  time,  were  made 
to  offset  the  amounts  due  for  non-issued  rations,  the  source  of  "com 
pany  funds'' — we  would  have  been  nearly  starved. 

The  return  inarch  was  begun  on  the  23rd  of  October,  on  which 
day  the  weather  turned  suddenly  cold  and  a  high  wrind  rose,  which 
blew  down  many  of  the  tents  at  Yellow  Medicine  that  night.  Ar 
rived  at  the  Lower  Agency  on  the  25th,  and  then  went  into  camp 
at  Camp.  Sibley;  and  remained  there  till  the  8th  of  November, 
and  then  resumed  the  march.  The  next  day  the  company  was 
detailed  as  guard  for  the  prisoners,  two  men  being  assigned  to 
each  wagon.  Though  the  troops  left  the  village  of  New  Ulm  a 
mile  or  more  to  the  left,  yet  the  citizens,  exasperated  at  the  sight 
of  the  Indians  in  the  wagons  guarded  by  the  soldiers,  lined  the 
road  opposite  the  town  in  great  excitement,  hurling  stones  and  en 
deavoring  to  get  at  the  Indians,  in  which  they  partly  succeeded. 
On  the  10th  we  arrived  at  Blue  Earth  River  bridge,  and  camped 
a,  little  beyond  it,  on  the  townsite  of  Le  Hillier  (L'Huillier)  and 
immediately  south  of  the  isolated  bluff  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, — 
the  camp  being  called  Camp  Lincoln. 

Here  Eberdt  was  relieved.  Fischer  left  on  the  15th  on  furlough, 
from  which  he  never  returned;  Juergens  and  Knobelsdorff,  sick, 
were  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Mankato  the  same  day.  Gaheen,  Gant- 
ner,  Meyer  and  Parks  had  been  detailed  or  detached  as  regimental 
teamsters  during  parts  of  October  and  November,  but  by  this  time 
were  all  with  the  company  again  for  duty. 

The  regiment  marched,  by  the  way  of  Mankato,  to  St.  Peter,  on 
the  17th,  having  traveled  to  the  latter  place,  since  leaving  Fort 
Snelling  in  August,  as  a  regiment  of  the  expeditionary  brigade, 
about  350  miles.  The  campaign  being  terminated,  the  companies 
departed  to  their  various  assigned  winter  stations,— Companies  A, 
B,  G,  H,  and  K  for  Fort  Snelling;  D  for  Forest  City;  E  for  Hutch- 
inson,  McLeod  county;  and  C,  F,  and  I  for  Glencoe.  Lieutenant 
Holl  was  detailed  as  quartermaster  and  commissary  for  the  com 
pany  during  its  separation  from  the  regiment. 

On  the  18th  of  November  we  left  St.  Peter  with  Companies  C, 
D,  and  F;  four  miles  beyond  New  Auburn  parted  with  C  and  F, 
and  with  D  at  Hutchinson,  where  we  arrived  on  the  20th.  This 
place  was  already  garrisoned  by  Company  B  of  the  Ninth  Regi 
ment,  quartered  in  good  log  houses,  but  there  was  no  accommoda 
tion  for  the  newly-arrived  company,  and  fatigue  parties  had  at 
once  to  be  set  to  work  cutting  and  hauling  logs  for  building.  The 
season,  however,  being  too  far  advanced,  the  work  was  abandoned, 
permission  having  been  obtained  to  hire  quarters  at  Kingston  in 
stead.  On  the  21th  Dreis  died  of  diphtheria.  He  was  buried  in 


16  HISTORY   OF  COMPANY   E, 

the  village  burial-grounds  near  by.     Seven  men  had  to  be  left  at 
Hutchinson  on  departure.— live  sick  arid  two  as  nurses. 

On  the  2sth  \ve  left  for  Kingston,  traveling  by  the  way  of 
Green  leaf,  Round  Lake,  and  For--si  City,  and  reaching  destination 
1lie  next  day.  An  old  frame  store  near  the  mill  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Crow  River  was  used  for  barrack  purposes,  and  by  the 
erection  of  a  log  kitchen  and  bake  house,  with  some  other  improve 
ments,  served  the  purpose  very  well.  Duties  were  light,  provisions 
good  and  ample  in  quantity,  and  the  1  ime  passed  pleasantly  enough. 
A  system  of  furloughs  was  inaugurated,  and  every  man  had  the 
privilege  of  fifteen  days'  leave  of  absence.  After  the  departure  of 
Fischer,  Koenig  had  to  cook  alone,  and  when  he  went  on  furlough, 
December  16th,  Gantner  and  Rossion  conducted  the  kitchen  in  the 
interim.  Sergeant  Burch  left  on  furlough  on  the  Kith,  but  being 
detailed  in  St.  Paul  at  District  Headquarters  he  did  riot  return  to 
the  company  at  the  expiration  of  his  leave  of  absence;  also  Grieb- 
ler,  who  did  not  return  to  Kingston  either.  Sergeant  Scheer  w^as  re 
duced  to  the  ranks  at  his  own  request  on  the  20th,  and  on  the 
same  day  Corporal  Burch  wras,  by  company  order,  promoted  to 
fifth  sergeant;  also  privates  Xeierburg  and  Eheim  were  appointed, 
respectively,  seventh  and  eighth  corporals,  on  the  4th  of  January, 
1863,  to  fill  vacancies,  the  enlisted  men  having  shown  their  pref 
erences  by  special  election;  the  same  day  also  Gaheen  and  Hauck 
wrere  similarly  recommended  for  company  cooks,  and  were  detailed 
as  such.  Juergens  rejoined  on  the  13th.  A.  J.  Hill  left  for  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.,  in  obedience  to  orders  from  the  Headquarters  of  the 
Army  requiring  him  to  report  there  for  duty;  same  day  John  left 
on  furlough,  but,  becoming  ill,  did  not  return  to  the  company  at 
its  expiration.  Sproesser  was  detailed  as  company  fifer  on  Febru 
ary  1st.  Klinghammer  rejoined,  sick,  on  the  6th;  he  having  been 
mustered  in  at  Fort  Ridgley  on  the  13th  of  October. 

The  company  being  ordered  to  Fort  Snelling,  where  the  head 
quarters  of  the  regiment  were,  left  Kingston  on  the  27th  of  Feb 
ruary,  on  the  arrival  of  Company  H,  which  relieved  it,  and  traveled, 
in  sleighs  mostly,  by  the  way  of  Clear  Water  and  Dayton,  reaching 
the  fort  on  the  1st  of  March.  Quarters  were  assigned  it  in  the 
old  barracks,  near  the  sutler's  store,  and  the  usual  routine  of  drill 
and  guard  duty  began  again.  Here  Fandel  joined,  sick,  and  Grieb- 
ler  rejoined.  Jakobi  was  detailed  as  company  bugler  on  the  2i!nd. 
and  John  rejoined  on  the  29th.  Private  Kobelitz  was  on  the  1st  of 
April  honorably  discharged,  for  disability.  The  regiment  went  into 
camp  on  the  river,  about  a  mile  above  the  fort,  on  the  4th,  and 
Sibley  tents  were  issued  as  before.  George  Paulson  left  on  de 
tached  service  for  Yellow  Medicine  on  the  12th,  afterwards  (in 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  17 

June)  acting  as  orderly  at  regimental  headquarters.  William  Gab- 
bert,  a  Prussian,  resident  of  St.  Paul,  enlisted  as  private  in  the 
company  on  the  13th.  Privates  Griebler  and  Maurer  left  on  the 
17th  on  a  (forged)  pass,  but  did  not  return  at  the  proper  time,  and 
were  afterwards  found  to  have  deserted.  Privates  Harrfeldt,  W. 
A.  Hill,  and  Meyer  were,  by  District  order  of  the  1st  of  May,  trans 
ferred  to  the  Third  Minnesota  Batterv. 


18  HISTOEY   OF   COMPANY   E, 


PART  3. 
INDIAN  rAMPAJGN  IN  MINNESOTA  AND  DAKOTA— 1803-64. 

At  the  end  of  April,  1863,  orders  were  received  to  rendezvous 
at  Camp  Pope  on  the  upper  Minnesota  River.  Fifteen  of  the  men 
had  to  be  left  behind  at  the  fort,  viz.:  J.  J.  Mueller  and  Reimers, 
on  detached  service;  and  Becker,  Fandel,  Gantner,  John,  Keller- 
rnann,  Knobelsdorff,  Koenig,  Mann,  J.  Mueckenhausen,  Peterson, 
Schauer,  Scheer,  and  Wolf,  sick.  On  the  28th  of  April  Companies 
E  and  D  embarked  on  the  steamboat  Favorite,  but  could  go  no 
further  by  water  than  to  within  about  three  miles  of  Mankato, 
thence  going  on  foot,  arriving  at  their  destination  on  the  5th  of 
May. 

Camp  Pope  was  not  an  original  settlement,  but  a  spot  selected 
especially  as  a  base  of  operations  against  the  Indians;  for  which 
purpose  storehouses  had  been  erected  there.  It  was  situated  on 
the  river  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  the  crossing  of  the 
Red  Wood  River.  On  the  reassembling  of  the  regiment  the  com 
pany  held  the  same  rank  (5th)  and  position  (7th^  as  before,  but  had 
as  neighbors  Company  G  on  the  right  and  Company  I  on  the  left. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  month  (May)  a  regimental  band  was 
formed,  and  Seidel,  Eberdt,  and  Jakobi  were  detailed  as  members 
of  it.  J.  J.  Mueller  and  Reimers  rejoined  on  the  5th.  Detert  was 
detailed  as  regimental  pioneer  on  the  15th.  The  expedition  being 
ready,  those  sick  and  unable  to  travel  were  left  behind  at  Camp 
Pope;  of  Company  E,  Hellniann  and  Paul  Paulson  remained  there. 
The  strength  of  the  company  present  at  this  time  was  68,  and  ag 
gregate  number  85. 

The  second  expedition  for  the  chastisement  of  the  Dakotas  left 
Camp  Pope  on  the  16th  of  June,  1863.  The  19th  and  21st  of  the 
month  were  spent  in  camp.  On  the  23rd,  transportation  permit 
ting,  the  knapsacks  of  the  men  were  carried  in  wagons.  The  valley 
between  Big  Stone  Lake  and  Lake  Traverse  was  reached  on  the 
26th,  and  a  camp  established  about  a  mile  from  the  latter  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Minnesota  River  (there  but  a  rivulet),  which  camp 
was  situated  near  but  outside  of  the  state  boundary.  The  camp 
wras  called  McLaren,  and  three  days  were  spent  there.  From  line 
a  detachment  consisting  of  three  companies  of  infantry,  including 
Company  H  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  sonic  cavalry,  and  one  piece 
of  artillery,  all  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  A \crill.  was 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  19 

dispatched  to  Fort  Abercrombie  for  supplies.  Klinghanimer,  un 
able  to  march,  was  sent  along  to  the  fort.  It  may  be  here  noted,  as 
a  matter  of  interest  to  hydrographers,  that  Lake  Traverse  was 
not  at  this  time  an  unbroken  sheet  of  water,  as  a  corporal  of  Com 
pany  G  crossed  it  on  foot  near  the  middle,  seeing  the  lake  in  two 
parts,  to  the  right  and  left  of  him. 

Resumed  the  march  on  June  30th,  and  forded  the  Sheyenne 
River  on  the  4th  of  July,  camping  a  little  beyond  it  at  a  spot  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  northeast  of  the  two  mounds  called  "The  Bow 
shot"  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  where  the  fight  occurred  about 
forty  years  before  between  the  Pawnees,  Shawrnees,  and  Sheyennes, 
which,  as  I  am  informed,  resulted  in  the  annihilation  of  the  last- 
named  tribe.  At  this  place, — named  Camp  Hayes, — 70  miles  dis 
tant  from  Camp  McLaren,  the  expedition  lay  six  days,  awaiting 
the  supply  train,  which  arrived  on  the  9th.  Resumed  the  march 
on  the  llth,  on  which  day  Lieutenant  Exel  left  on  furlough.  The 
12th  was  spent  in  camp.  The  second  crossing  of  the  Sheyenne  was 
made  on  the  17th.  On  the  18th  arrived  at  two  lakes  named  Jessie* 
and  Leda,  00  miles  from  Camp  Hayes.  An  entrenched  camp  was 
established  on  the  banks  of  the  former  (the  more  easterly  one  of 
these  two  lakes)  which  was  about  three  miles  long.  The  camp  was 
called  Atchison,  and  a  day  and  one-half  were  spent  there  in  making 
arrangements  for  a  vigorous  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  Companies  C 
and  G  of  the  Sixth  were  stationed  there  as  a  part  of  the  garrison, 
and  five  of  the  company  were  left  behind  there,  viz.:  Seidel,  Eberdt, 
and  Jakobi,  as  members  of  the  band,  and  Kraemer  and  Renter, 
wTho  were  too  sick  to  travel. 

On  the  20th,  all  the  arrangements  having  been  completed,  the 
expedition  began  a  more  rapid  advance  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
and  on  the  24th  of  July,  89  miles  from  Camp  Atchison  was  fought 
the  battle  of  "Big  Hills"  or  "Big  Mound."  As  soon  as  it  was  known 
that  the  Indians  were  in  force,  the  train  was  corralled  on  the 
margin  of  a  small  lake,  Big  Mound  being  directly  to  the  eastward 
and  distant  about  one  and  one-quarter  miles.  The  Sixth  Regiment 
with  one  company  of  Mounted  Rangers  and  a  section  of  artillery 
occupied  the  east  front,  and  threw  up  a  line  of  earthworks  for  pro 
tection.  As  soon  as  the  attack  began,  Colonel  Crooks  at  once 
deployed  Companies  E,  I,  and  K  of  the  Sixth  and  A  of  the  Ninth, 
under  Major  McLaren,  as  skirmishers,  and  they  pursued  the  In 
dians  two  and  one-half  miles.  Three  companies  of  the  Sixth  were 
also  deployed  on  the  left  flank,  and  the  Indians  were  repulsed  at 
that  point.  Major  McLaren  with  companies  A,  B,  D,  I,  and  K  ad- 

*This  camp  was  located  on  the  W.  %  of  the  N.  W.  %  of  section  28,  and  the  E.  % 
of  the  N.  E.  14  of  section  29,  township  147  north,  of  range  60  west,  on  the  northeast 
side  of  what  is  now  known  as  Liake  Sibley,  and  about  11  miles  in  a  direct  line  to  the 
northwest  of  Cooperstown,  Griggs  County,  North  Dakota.— T.  H.  L. 


20  HISTORY   OF  COMPANY   E, 

vanced  four  miles  at  a  double-quick,  having  been  ordered  to  sup 
port  the  troops  already  at  the  front,  but  on  their  arrival  they  were 
ordered  to  return  to  camp. 

On  the  25th  the  expedition  moved  only  about  five  miles  to  a 
better  camping  place  and  remained  there  on  account  of  the  jaded 
horses.  On  the  20th,  with  the  Sixth  Regiment  in  advance,  the 
march  was  resumed.  On  arriving  at  Dead  Buffalo  Lake,  some  15 
miles  from  the  last  camp,  the  Indians  again  appeared  in  force  and 
commenced  an  attack.  Colonel  Crooks  immediately  deployed  a 
part  of  the  Sixth,  including  Company  E,  as  skirmishers,  under 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill,  and  they  advanced  steadily,  driving  the 
enemy  as  they  went;  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  under  Major 
McLaren  being  held  in  reserve.  After  an  advance  of  about  one 
and  one-half  miles  Major  McLaren  with  five  companies  of  the 
Sixth  was  ordered  to  return  to  the  camp  at  the  lake,  three  com 
panies  remaining  at  the  front.  Desultory  firing  was  kept  up  until 
about  3  p.  m.,  when  the  Indians  made  a  final  assault,  which  was 
repulsed  in  fine  style  by  the  troops  under  command  of  Major  Mc 
Laren.  The  Indians,  having  been  defeated  at  every  point,  now 
withdrew  from  the  field. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  the  advance  was  again  resumed, 
and  in  the  afternoon  a  camp  was  formed  on  Stony  Lake.  On  the 
28th,  as  the  troops  were  forming  in  column,  the  Indians  again  ap 
peared  and  made  their  last  charge.  About  one  mile  beyond  the 
lake  the  Sixth  Regiment  was  deployed  to  skirmish  on  the  right 
of  the  train,  and  they  repelled  the  attack  of  the  Indians  who  threat 
ened  it.  The  firing  continued  for  a  time,  the  Indians  finally  mak 
ing  a  rapid  retreat  in  the  face  of  the  advancing  expedition.  The 
pursuit  was  continued  until  Apple  River  was  reached,  where  a  camp 
was  formed  for  the  night. 

On  the  29th  the  army  crossed  Apple  River,  continuing  the  pur 
suit,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  Missouri  River  was  reached,  the  regi 
ment,  under  the  immediate  command  of  Colonel  Crooks,  skirmish 
ing  nearly  two  miles  through  the  woods  to  it.  The  Indians  hav 
ing  crossed  to  the  west  bank  and  hoisted  white  flags,  the  battery 
which  had  been  advanced,  and  was  in  good  position  for  shelling, 
was  moved  away,  as  the  policy  seemed  to  be  to  kill  Indians  only 
when  they  made  an  attack.  Many  of  the  skirmishers  ventured  to 
the  river  bank  and  began  filling  their  canteens,  when  suddenly  the 
enemy  fired  at  them  from  the  other  side  and  the  men  were  forced 
back,  but  not  without  sending  a  volley  in  return.  A  camp  was 
formed  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  River  near  llie  mouth  of  Apple 
River.  The  point  on  the  river  struck  was  in  about  40°  40'  north 
latitude,  000  miles  from  Fort  Snelling  by  the  route  followed,  G 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  Apple  River,  and  S5  miles  from  the  Big 
Mound. 


SIXTH   MINNESOTA    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  21 

On  the  30th  Colonel  Crooks  with  Companies  A,  I,  and  K  and 
details  of  men  from  other  regiments,  proceeded  to  the  Indian 
crossing,  and  destroyed  all  the  wagons  and  such  other  property  as 
would  be  of  service  to  the  Indians,  and  then  returned  to  camp. 

The  return,  march  began  on  the  2nd  of  August.  The  '5th  and 
9th  of  the  month  were  spent  in  camp.  Passed  to  the  southward 
of  the  outward  journey,  shortening  the  route  some  thirty  miles,  and 
arrived  at  Camp  Atchison  on  the  10th.  Rested  on  the  flth. 
Reached  Sheyenne  River  on  the  13th,  and  camped  three  miles  be 
yond  it. 

At  this  last  place  the  nightly  entrenching,  commenced  on  de 
parture  from  Camp  Pope,  was  abandoned,  the  impulse  of  discon 
tinuance  coming  from  Company  E.  It  had  been  the  custom,  both 
in  the  campaign  of  1802  and  this,  to  throw  up  every  evening  light 
exterior  mounds  and  ditches  for  defense,  a  work  necessarily  irk 
some  and  unpopular  with  men  fatigued  wTith  hard  marching,  and 
in  the  presence  of  an  enemy  (and  some  times  not)  they  neither 
respected  nor  feared.  The  traces  of  these  works,  slight  as  they 
were,  will  be  visible  for  years,  and  if  properly  noted  by  the  sur 
veyors  of  the  public  lands  as  the  surveys  extend  wrestwrard,  and 
by  future  Pacific  Railroad  parties,  w411  furnish  means  for  exactly 
determining  the  routes  of  the  two  expeditions;  certainly  as  re 
gards  that  of  18(53,  which  lay  through  trackless  wastes,  over  which 
not  even  an  odometer  passed  with  this  expedition.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  commanding  officer  of  the  expedition,  lavish  as 
were  the  expenses  attending  it,  thought  fit  to  negative  a  proposi 
tion  made  to  form  a  quasi-topographical  force  for  its  use.  Such 
a  proposition  would  have  involved  no  other  expense  than  that  of 
a  fewT  simple  instruments  for  the  use  of  the  surveyor  and  his  as 
sistants  (enlisted  men)  who  might  be  detailed,  and  their  labors 
wrould  have  furnished  valuable  material  for  the  maps  which  were 
afterwards  ordered  to  be  constructed,  besides  contributing  to  the 
interests  of  geographical  science  in  general. 

The  16th  and  18th  of  August  wrere  spent  in  camp.  Reached 
Fort  Abercrombie  on  the  21st  and  camped  on  the  wrest  side  of  it; 
distance  from  Camp  Atchison  about  115  miles.  Remained  at  the 
fort  three  days.  Here  Klinghammer  rejoined.  Resumed  march  on 
the  25th.  Spent  the  30th  in  camp.  Arrived  at  Sauk  Centre  on 
the  2nd  of  September,  and  remained  there  all  the  next  day.  Here 
Rehse  was  left  behind,  sick.  At  this  place  the  expeditionary  forces 
were  divided,  the  Sixth  Regiment  being  ordered  to  Fort  Snelling. 
We  left  Sauk  Centre  on  the  5th;  and  spent  the  next  day  in  camp. 
The  route  was  by  the  way  of  St.  Joseph,  St.  Cloud,  and  Anoka, 
and  the  neighborhood  of  the  fort  was  reached  on  the  12th;  the 
return  route  from  Apple  River  being  about  510  miJ°<». 


22  HISTORY  OF   COMPANY   E, 

John  and  Seller  rejoined  on  arrival  at  the  fort,  and  Seidel, 
Eberdt,  and  Jakobi  were  relieved,  the  band  being  temporarily  sus 
pended.  Corporal  Eheim  was  sent  to  the  hospital  on  the  18th. 

Companies  A,  C,  E,  F,  G,  and  H,  being  ordered  to  Fort  Ridg- 
ley,  left  together  on  September  19th,  going  by  the  way  of  Bloom- 
ington,  Shakopee,  Jordan,  Belle  Plaine,  and  Le  Sueur.  At  the  lat 
ter  place  Gantner  rejoined  on  the  22nd.  Passed  through  Traverse, 
and  came  to  Fort  Kidgley  on  the  25th.  Detert  wTas  now  relieved. 
Here  the  destinations  of  the  companies  ordered  to  guard  the  south 
western  frontier  of  the  state  wrere  announced.  Of  Company  E  the 
main  body  (or  two-thirds)  was  to  proceed  to  the  station  at  Lake 
Hanska  in  Brown  county  (35  miles  off)  and  the  remainder  to  the 
post  of  Cottonw7ood  (12  miles),  to  relieve  the  troops  there  in  garri 
son.  Accordingly  on  the  28th  the  movement  took  place,  the  smaller 
force  reaching  its  assigned  position  the  same  day,  the  main  body 
taking  two  days  for  its  journey.  While  at  Lake  Hanska,  Sergeant 
Bell  left  for  St.  Paul,  where,  on  the  Oth  of  November,  he  w^as  com 
missioned  second  lieutenant  of  the  company. 

Company  E,  having  been  designated  (in  lieu  of  Company  F)  as 
part  of  the  escort  to  the  train  fitting  out  to  convey  provisions  to 
the  Indian  bands  removed  from  Minesota  to  Crow  Creek  Agency 
or  Fort  Thompson  on  the  Missouri  River,  was  ordered  to  rendez- 
TOUS  at  New  Ulm,  which  was  done  on  the  29th  of  October  by 
'both  the  detachments.  The  smaller  one  had  left  Big  Cottonwood 
•on  the  25th  under  orders  to  garrison  Buffalo  Creek  station  IL'."> 
miles  northeast  of  the  fort),  but  immediately  on  reaching  that 
place  received  the  counter  order.  By  the  promotion  of  Sergeant 
Bell  to  the  second  lieutenancy,  Sergeant  Huhn  became  first  or  or 
derly  sergeant,  according  to  company  order  of  the  1st  of  November. 

Left  New  Ulm  on  the  3rd  of  the  month,  and  reached  Mankato, 
28  miles  distant,  the  assembling  point  of  the  train  and  escort,  the 
next  day.  Eberdt  and  Jakobi  left  on  the  4th  to  report  at  Fort 
Kidgley,  and  Lieutenant  Holl  for  St.  Paul.  Seidel  and  Sproesser 
left,  on  the  6th,  for  Fort  Ridgley,  Corporal  Steifel  was  sent  there 
sick,  and  Radke  was  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Mankato  on  the  same 
day. 

The  expedition,  with  Captain  J.  C.  Whitney  in  command,  started 
on  the  7th.  The  escort  consisted  of  Companies  1>.  E,  and  H,  of 
the  Sixth  Regiment.  The  9th,  10th,  and  llth  were  spent  in  camp. 
also  the  14th  at  Leavenworth,  where  the  nuts  were  taken  oil'  the 
wagons  (said  to  have  been  done  by  the  men  of  Company  1>  who 
felt  themselves  aggrieved).  Sergeant  Siebert,  sick,  left  for  St.  IVter 
on  the  15th,  and  Bast  on  furlough:  from  which,  falling  sick,  he  did 
not  return  at  the  appointed  time.  Readied  Des  Moines  River,  near 
the  outlet  of  Lake  Sheiek.  on  1he  ISth.  and  there  remained  in  camp 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  23 

all  the  next  day.  Here  Lieutenant  Holl  rejoined  and  commenced 
to  act  as  first  lieutenant,  having  been  commissioned  as  such  No 
vember  7th;  the  present  strength  of  the  company  was  now  59,  and 
aggregate  79.  G.  Paulson  accompanied  the  expedition,  but  is  not 
reckoned  in  this  number,  as  he  was  on  detached  service  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  expedition.  The  route  of  the  train  was  a  few 
miles  to  the  northward  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  and  the  Big 
Sioux  River  wras  reached  and  crossed — 53  miles  from  Lake  Shetek 
—on  the  23rd.  Crossed  the  James  River,  90  miles  from  the  Big 
Sioux,  on  the  28th.  Arrived  at  Fort  Thompson,  75  miles  further, 
on  the  2nd  of  December,  and  remained  there  three  days.  This  fort 
is  a  stockaded  inclosure  about  500  feet  square,  built  to  include  and 
protect  the  Agency  and  barracks;  it  is  95  miles,  by  river  road, 
above  Fort  Randall,  two  miles  from  the  Missouri,  and  about  a 
mile  from  Crow  Creek.  On  the  5th  left  the  fort  for  return.  Re 
mained  in  camp  on  the  14th,  twelve  miles  below  Yankton;  Corporal 
Leitner  wras  promoted  fifth  sergeant,  and  privates  Juergens,  Ga- 
heen,  and  Hoscheid  appointed  to  fill  the  vacant  offices  of  sixth, 
seventh,  and  eighth  corporal.  The  17th  was  also  spent  in  camp 
on  account  of  a  terrible  snowstorm.  Reached  the  neighborhood  of 
Sioux  City,  Iowa,  on  the  18th,  camping  two  and  one-half  miles 
northwest  of  it.  On  the  21st  the  troops  again  moved;  traveling 
by  the  way  of  Melbourne,  Cherokee,  Peterson's;  Spirit  Lake,  and 
Estherville,  Iowa,  they  came  to  Fairmont,  Minnesota,  on  the  30th. 
Remained  in  camp  the  next  twro  days.  Passed  through  Winnebago 
City  and  arrived  at  Mankato  on  the  3rd  of  January,  1864,  when 
Company  D  left  for  the  north. 

This  journey  of  about  750  miles — 315  outward  from,  and  435 
return  to,  Mankato — was  accomplished  in  fifty-four  days;  and  be 
cause  of  the  rigor  of  the  Northwestern  winter,  and  much  of  it 
through  a  pathless  country, — the  command  sleeping  in  tents  on 
the  snow-covered  ground, — the  men  called  it  the  "Moscow  journey/' 
The  mercury  at  times  stood  30° 'below  zero,  and  never  was  above 
the  freezing  point. 

Companies  E  and  H  returned  by  way  of  New  Ulm  to  Fort 
Ridgley,  45  miles,  on  the  7th  and  8th  of  January,  having  marched 
since  leaving  the  former  place  in  November  about  825  miles.  The 
only  company  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  at  the  fort  at  this  time  was  A. 
Company  E  was  assigned  quarters  in  the  stone  barracks,  on  north 
side.  The  duties  were  not  heavy  and  the  time  passed  comfortably 
enough  for  soldiers.  Musicians  Seidel,  Eberdt,  Jakobi,  and  Sproes- 
ser  now  rejoined,  but  not  for  duty,  being  detailed  in  the  band;  also 
Sergeant  Steifel  and  George  Paulson.  Sergeant  Siebert  rejoined 
on  the  20th.  Sergeant  Hulm  was  detached  as  acting  post  hospital 
steward  on  the  27th,  being  afterwards  discharged — on  the  20th  of 


24  HISTORY  OF  COMPANY   E, 

February — to  enlist  in  the  same  capacity  in  the  regular  army. 
Henry  Steck,  enlisted  as  private  in  the  regiment  on  the  3rd  of 
February  and  assigned  to  the  company,  joined  for  duly  Mareh 
20th, — native  country  of  recruit,  Wurtemberg.  Bast  rejoined  on 
the  10th,  and  Radke  about  the  15th.  Captain  Sphoenemann  left 
for  St.  Paul  April  4th,  and  Lieutenant  Holl  assumed  command  of 
the  company.  On  the  10th  Sergeant  Siebert  was  promoted  to  first 
sergeant  and  Corporal  Stiefel  to  fifth  sergeant,  and  privates  Radke 
and  Gabbert  appointed  seventh  and  eighth  corporals,  respectively; 
but  the  latter  scarcely  ever  acted  as  such  and  was  reduced  to  the 
ranks,  at  his  own  request,  on  the  13th  of  the  following  month. 
George  Paulson  was  detailed  in  the  regimental  band  on  the  7th 
of  May. 

At  the  beginning  of  May  a  detail  of  about  a  dozen  men  of  the 
company,  under  Sergeant  Huth  and  Corporal  Radke,  wrere  sent 
from  Fort  Ridgley  to  Milford — 12  miles — to  relieve  the  cavalry  at 
that  post.  On  the  loth  Corporal  Smith  replaced  Corporal  Radke 
there.  This  detachment  returned  at  the  end  of  the  month.  While 
there  the  woods  of  the  Big  Cottonwood  and  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Milford  were  thoroughly  scouted,  both  by  parties  from  Company 
E  and  from  Company  G  (posted  at  Fort  Wilkin  and  Madelia),  but 
by  the  former  traces  only  of  the  Indians  were  found. 

The  Sixth  Regiment  being  ordered  to  rendezvous  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing,  to  prepare  for  their  departure  to  the  South,  in  accordance 
with  the  order  of  the  War  Department  of  the  2Gth  of  May  requiring 
it  to  report  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  Companies  A,  E,  and  H  left  Fort 
Ridgley  on  the  2nd  of  June.  The  only  member  of  the  company 
left  behind  there  was  F.  Henricks,  sick  in  hospital.  Traveled  by 
the  way  of  Henderson,  Belle  Plaine,  and  Shakopee.  and  arrived  at 
Fort  Snelling  on  the  7th,  and  went  into  camp  about  a  mile  above 
the  fort — Camp  Crooks. 

Between  the  8th  and  12th  the  following  recruits  joined  the 
company  for  duty  as  privates,  viz.:  Edward  Bryan,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  enlisted  November  7th,  1 863;  Henry  Wetterau,  native  of 
Wisconsin,  enlisted  February  4th,  1864;  Peter  Holtzmer.  native  of 
Luxemburg,  enlisted  February  5th;  Joseph  Rachel,  enlisted  Feb 
ruary  llth;  Michael  Knopf,  native  of  New  York,  enlisted  February 
24th;  Charles  Foglesang,  native  of  Baden,  and  William  Hilde- 
braridt,  native  of  Hanover,  enlisted  February  26th;  Mathias  Frank, 
native  of  Luxemburg,  enlisted  February  -7th;  Stephen  Iwan,  and 
Francz  Troska,  natives  of  Prussian  Poland,  enlisted  February  LMHh; 
John  Lieber,  native  of  Nassau,  enlisted  June  10th, — and  all  weiv 
enlisted  for  three  years.  Of  these  Bryan  had  been  enlisted  for  the 
company  at  St.  Paul,  but  having  been  at  once  placed  on  detached 
servire  did  not  join  his  command  till  this  time  (the  Sth'i:  with  him, 


SIXTH   MINNESOTA   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  25 

from  the  same  duty — herding  mules  at  Glencoe — returned  Rehse. 
Corporal  Gaheen  was  detailed  in  the  regimental  color  guard  on  the 
12th;  and  on  the  14th  Captain  Schoeuemann  resumed  command, 
and  Burch  rejoined. 

The  sum  of  the  distance  traveled  by  the  company  from  its  or 
ganization  to  this  time  was  over  2,700  miles. 


26  HISTORY   OF  COMPANY   E, 


PART  4. 

SERVICES  AT  HELENA,  ST.  LOUIS,  AND  NEW  ORLEANS— 

1864-65. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1864,  the  whole  regiment  left  Fort  Snelling, 
marched  to  St.  Paul,  and  embarked  on  the  steamboats  Enterprise 
and  Hudson,  each  having  two  barges  in  tow  for  additional  accom 
modation  of  the  men.  Arrived  at  Dunleith,  Illinois,  on  the  17th 
and  took  the  cars  to  Cairo,  which  point  was  reached  on  the  19th. 
Here  wagoner  Henricks,  sick,  was  left  in  the  hospital.  Embarked 
on  the  steamer  Empress  at  midnight,  and  arrived  at  Helena,  Ar 
kansas,  and  landed  there,  on  the  23rd. 

By  changes  in  commissions  occurring  during  the  spring,  the 
company  had  now  become  the  third  in  rank  and  in  regimental 
position  the  fifth  from  the  right,  writh  Company  A  in  front  and 
Company  I  in  the  rear  or  left.  Its  strength  at  the  time  of  the 
arrival  was,  present  76,  aggregate  84;  the  absentees  being  Lieuten 
ant  Bell  and  A.  J.  Hill  on  detached  service,  the  two  Henricks  and 
Schauer  sick,  and  Scheer,  I  wan,  and  Troska  left  behind  at  St.  Paul. 

The  regiment  at  once  went  into  camp,  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
one-half  mile  above  the  town.  Shelter  tents  wyere  issued  now  for 
the  first  time.  The  camp  was  called  Camp  Buford,  and  was  the 
last  one  that  was  officially  named.  Troska  and  Iwan  rejoined  on 
the  24th,  and  also  the  next  day  A.  J.  Hill  from  detached  service 
at  Washington.  Detert  and  Schiebel  were  detailed  as  regimental 
pioneers  on  the  28th  and  A  J.  Hill  as  company  clerk  in  the  begin 
ning  of  July. 

From  the  beginning  there  was  a  close  guard  kept  around  the 
limited  area  occupied  by  the  regiment,  and  it  was  maintained  sev 
eral  weeks.  The  duty  required  by  the  District  Commandant  was 
chiefly  prison  and  picket  guard.  In  the  first  week  of  July  orders 
were  issued  to  build  quarters,  and  fatigue  parties  were  at  once 
set  to  work  cutting,  hauling,  and  sawing  logs  for  that  purpose. 
Wagoner  Henricks  rejoined  on  the  18th. 

Companies  E  and  F  being  detailed  to  proceed  to  certain  points 
with  a  view  of  obtaining  information  of  the  movements  of  the 
enemy,  the  major  part  embarked,  with  forty  men  of  the  Fifteenth 
Illinois  Cavalry,  on  the  evening  of  the  13th,  on  the  steamboat  Dove, 
and  proceeded  up  the  Mississippi  River,  reaching  Buck  Island  (No. 
52)  on  the  next  day,  and  searched  it  as  ordered.  Returned  to  the 
levee  at  Helena  the  same  night,  and  lay  there.  Next  day.  iho  ir.ih, 
went  up  the  St.  Francis  River,  some  thirty-five  miles,  to  Alligator 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  27 

Bayou,  then  returned  to  Helena  and  into  camp  again.  The  Mis 
sissippi  River  part  of  this  trip  was  under  command  of  Captain 
Schoenemann,  and  the  other  under  that  of  the  major  of  cavalry. 
No  guerrillas  or  other  enemies  were  seen.  The  infantry  forces  did 
not  land,  but  the  cavalry  did  and  scouted  between  the  two  rivers. 

Kilian  was  detached  as  nurse  in  the  regimental  hospital  on  the 
21st.  Lieutenant  Bell  returned  on  the  22nd,  and  with  him  Scheer. 

On  the  26th  of  July  the  regiment  went  out  about  two  miles  be 
yond  the  picket  lines  on  the  Little  Rock  road  to  cover  the  retreat 
of  some  colored  troops  and  cavalry  who  had  been  very  severely 
handled  that  morning  at  a  creek  some  few  miles  west  of  town. 
On  the  1st  of  August  it  went  out  again  on  the  same  road  as  before, 
but  not  quite  so  far,  and  remained  on  picket  in  the  woods  on  the 
right  of  the  road  during  the  night,  returning  to  camp  the  next 
morning.  It  was  understood  that  a  projected  attack  by  the  enemy 
on  the  defences  of  the  town  was  the  cause  of  this  movement. 
Nothing  of  the  kind,  however,  took  place. 

The  heat  was  now  intense,  and  the  sickness  increased  with 
alarming  rapidity.  The  building  of  quarters  was  given  up  or  post 
poned,  and  the  houses,  more  or  less  finished,  occupied  as  well  as 
they  could  be.  Company  E  managed  to  complete — walls  and  roof 
— one  of  the  four  prescribed  barracks,  but,  being  destitute  of 
chinking,  in  a  rainstorm  it  afforded  but  poor  shelter.  Being  com 
posed  of  log  and  frame  houses,  board  and  canvas  shanties,  the 
camp  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  presented,  by  autumn,  a  melancholy 
variety  indeed. 

Bast  was  detached  for  provost  duty  in  Helena  on  the  IGth; 
on  the  18th  Schafer  was  detached  for  provost  duty,  and  Praxl  as 
nurse  in  the  post  hospital  on  the  19th.  J.  J.  Mueller  was  detached 
as  cook  in  the  regimental  hospital  (now  in  town)  on  the  20th. 

The  following  men  of  the  company  died  while  at  Helena,  viz.: 
Jean  Rossion  on  July  25th;  Joseph  Rachel,  July  27th;  Louis  Wet- 
terau,  August  5th;  Frederick  Schoenheiter  on  the  30th,  Michael 
Boos  on  the  18th;  August  Willialms  on  the  23d,  and  Henry  Renter 
on  the  25th.  The  latter  was  the  last  of  the  company  that  died 
at  Helena;  all  seven  dying  of  disease.  They  were  buried  with  the 
rest  of  the  regimental  dead  on  the  summit  of  a  rising  ground  about 
one-half  mile  northwest  of  the  camp.  Properly  marked  boards 
were  placed  at  their  graves. 

In  September  the  sick  men  had  become  so  numerous  that  large 
numbers  were  sent  north.  Of  Company  E  there  went  as  follows: 
On  the  1st  of  the  month.  Bristle  was  sent  to  the*  hospital  at  Mem 
phis;  Corporal  Hoscheid,  wagoner  Henricks,  Foglesang,  Metz, 
Mueckenhausen,  Rehse,  Thiele,  and  H.  Wetterau,  sick,  were  sent 
to  the  hospital  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  on  the  3rd;  Sergeants 


28  HISTORY   OF  COMPANY   E, 

Leitner  and  Stiefel,  Corporals  Neierburg,  Juergens,  and  Radke,  and 
Ferlein,  Gabbert,  Hauck,  Holzmer,  John,  Kilian,  Kraemer,  Krue- 
ger,  M.  Mueller,  Munson,  Schene,  Steck,  and  Tenime.  sick,  wen-  also 
sent  to  .Jel'i'erson  Hai-racks  hospital,  on  the  19th.  F.  Henricks  re 
joined  on  the  21st,  and  on  the  same  day  Sergeant  Rohde  was  re 
lieved. 

At  about  this  time  the  once  strong  Sixth  Regiment  had  become 
the  shadow  of  its  former  self,  and  added  little  to  the  effective 
strength  of  the  garrison  of  the  post.  It  was  pitiable  to  look  at  the 
companies  as  they  marched  to  dress  parade;  very  often  having  but 
half  a  dozen  men  in  line. 

Gantner  was  relieved  on  the  28th;  and  Bast  rejoined  on  the  1st 
of  October.  The  same  day  the  following  recruits,  who  had  enlisted 
as  privates  for  one  year  in  the  regiment,  joined  the  company,  and 
were  two  days  afterwards  assigned  to  it  by  regimental  order,  viz.: 
William  S.  Adams,  native  of  Minnesota,  enlisted  August  25th; 
Henry  Churchill,  native  of  Vermont,  enlisted  August  27th ;  George 
R.  Bell,  native  of  Ohio,  and  Nelson  A.  Chandler,  a  native  of  New 
York,  enlisted  September  10th;  Melchior  Steinmann,  a  native  of 
Switzerland,  enlisted  September  12th.  All  of  the  above  but  Ad 
ams  (a  Sioux  of  mixed  blood)  were  young  boys,  and  incapable  of 
full  military  duty. 

On  the  12th,  details  of  men  commenced  to  build  barracks  on 
selected  regimental  grounds  located  in  town,  opposite  to  the  church 
used  as  a  Soldiers'  Home.  No  order  had  been  received  to  go  into 
regular  winter  quarters,  but  the  necessities  of  the  case  required 
this  course.  George  Bell  was  detailed  as  orderly  at  regimental 
headquarters  on  the  21st.  Sergeant  Stiefel,  and  Foglesang  and 
Schene  rejoined  on  the  22nd. 

The  removal  of  the  company  to  the  log  quarters  on  the  east  side 
of  the  above-named  ground  took  place  on  the  25th.  Company  E 
was  now  shifted  to  the  extreme  left  of  the  regiment,  becoming 
the  tenth  from  the  right  wing  and  the  second  in  rank.  Company 
I  was  on  the  immediate  right  of  it. 

An  order  from  NewT  Orleans  requiring  the  regiment  to  report 
at  St.  Louis  was  received  and  read  on  the  3rd  of  November  and 
preparations  made  at  once  to  comply  with  the  same.  Detert, 
Scheibel,  Kernen,  and  J.  J.  Mueller  were  relieved  the  same  day  and 
Schafer  rejoined;  also  Burch  and  Praxl  (the  latter  rejoined  on  the 
2nd)  were  detached  for  provost  duty  in  Helena.  The  two  latter, 
with  Churchill,  sick,  were  all  of  the  company  left  behind  There. 

On  the  4th,  tfee  Twenty-Third  Wisconsin  having  arrived  to  re 
lieve  it.  the  Sixth  Minnesota  embarked  on  the  steamboat  Thomas 
E.  Tutt,  truly  glad  to  leave  a  place  so  associated  with  disease,  suf 
fering  and  death.  The  number  of  the  company  now  on  the  boat 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 

was  54,  out  of  an  aggregate  of  SO.  While  lying  at  Memphis,  on  the 
6th,  Bristle,  wagoner  Henricks,  and  Ferlein  rejoined. 

Arrived  at  St.  Louis  on  the  evening  of  the  llth,  after  a  tedious 
voyage.  Next  morning  the  regiment  disembarked  and  marched 
through  the  city.  Six  companies  were  quartered  at  Winter  Street 
Barracks,  E  being  among  them.  At  this  time  the  military  post  of 
St.  Louis  was  under  the  enlightened  command  of  Colonel  James 
H.  Baker  of  the  Tenth  Minnesota,  whose  regulations  for  the  gov 
ernment  of  troops  stationed  there  were  liberal  and  just,  and  an 
admirable  model  for  the  imitation  of  officers  having  volunteer  sol 
diers  of  the  Republic  under  their  control.  The  sojourn  in  this  city 
would  have  been  generally  very  pleasant  had  it  not  been  for  the 
incessant  duty,  which,  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  prison 
guard,  was  severe,  just  half  of  the  men's  time  being  taken  up  by 
it.  The  weather,  too,  was  very  cold  for  outside  posts  of  sentinels. 

J.  J.  Mueller  was  detailed  as  orderly  at  company  headquarters 
on  the  12th,  Kernen  detached  as  cook  in  the  regimental  hospital 
on  the  15th,  and  Steinmann  detailed  as  company  drummer  on  the 
22nd.  The  absent  members  now  began  rapidly  to  return.  M. 
Mueckenhausen  rejoined  on  the  17th.  Sergeant  Leitner  on  the 
21st,  Burch,  Fraxl,  Corporal  Radke,  and  Kilian,  Kraemer,  and 
Temme  on  the  25th,  Churchill  on  the  26th,  M.  Mueller  on  the  27th, 
and  Krueger  on  the  30th.  Eberdt  was  relieved  on  the  29th.  Lieu 
tenant  Bell  was  dismissed  from  service  by  order  of  the  Department 
Commander  on  the  29th.  Knopf  left  on  furlough  December  9th, 
but  sickness  prevented  him  from  returning  at  its  expiration. 

The  companies  in  Winter  Street  Barracks  moved  into  Schofield 
Barracks  No.  2  on  the  13th  of  December;  E  being  quartered  in  the 
northern  quadrangle.  Corporal  Gaheen  was  relieved  on  the  19th, 
and  Sergeant  Leitner  detached  as  keeper  at  Gratiot  Street  Military 
Prison  on  the  20th.  Metz  rejoined  on  the  27th,  and  Holtzmer  on 
the  29th.  Lieutenant  Bell,  having  been  restored  to  command  by 
order  of  the  President  of  January  3rd,  1865,  rejoined  on  the  10th. 
Kernen  rejoined  on  the  llth.  To  fill  vacancies  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Neierburg  and  reduction  of  Gabbert,  Bast  and  Beckendorf 
were  appointed  seventh  and  eighth  corporals  on  the  12th,  and  con 
firmed  as  such  on  the  17th. 

Having  been  ordered  to  report  at  New  Orleans,  La.,  the  regi 
ment  left  St.  Louis  on  the  29th  of  January,  and  traveled  by  rail  to 
Cairo,  where  it  was  put  on  board  the  steamboat  W.  R.  Arthur, 
which  left  the  next  evening.  The  boat  then  had  on  board  over  1,000 
souls  in  all.  Reached  New  Orleans  the  6th  of  February,  and 
marched  to  quarters  in  Louisiana  Cotton  Press  No.  1,  used  as  a 
camp  of  distribution.  Lieutenant  Holl  was  detailed  as  assistant 
regimental  quartermaster,  and  Corporal  Gaheen  again  on  color 
guard,  on  the  7th. 


30 


HISTORY   OF   COMPANY   E, 


The  northern  soldiers  found  much  to  amuse  and  instruct  them 
when  they  arrived  at  this  southwestern  satrapy,  for  such — from 
its  isolated  position,  its  semi-tropical  products,  its  swarthy  and 
varied  population,  strange  tongues,  mariners,  and  customs,  and 
from  its  form  of  government — the  Military  Division  of  West  Mis 
sissippi  might  well  be  termed.  They,  however,  soon  discovered  the 
difference  between  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis.  The  former  was 
under  the  strictest  rule  of  a  martinet  of  the  regular  army.  The 
accidental  absence  of  a  pass,  even  in  daytime,  or  the  slightest  di 
vergence  from  the  prescribed  dress,  whether  occurring  on  or  off 
duty,  rendered  enlisted  men  subject  to  ruthless  fine  or  imprison 
ment,  and  the  other  offending  articles  to  confiscation  by  the  provost 
marshal. 

No  duty  was  called  for  till  the  10th,  when,  for  two  days,  fatigue 
parties  were  set  to  work  on  the  military  railroad  on  St.  Joseph 
street.  On  the  13th  details  for  miscellaneous  guard  duty  were  fur 
nished.  Corporal  Hoscheid  and  John  rejoined  on  the  12th.  Musi 
cian  Chandler  was  transferred  to  Company  B  on  the  13th,  there 
being  more  than  the  regular  number  of  musicians  in  Company  E. 
Wagoner  Henricks  was  detailed  in  regimental  quartermaster's  de 
pot  on  the  15th.  On  the  10th  the  regiment  moved  into  the  bar 
racks-  formerly  Terrill's  Cotton  Press,  opposite  the  southeast  cor 
ner  of  Annunciation  Square,  just  vacated  by  the  Seventh  Vermont. 
Sergeant  Kohde  was  detailed  as  sergeant  of  police  on  the  20th. 
Eberdt  and  Gropel  were  detached  to  guard  stores  on  steamboats, 
under  command  of  an  ordnance  officer,  on  the  25th.  Stengelin, 
sick,  was  sent  to  the  general  hospital  on  the  20th. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  month  the  regiment  received  orders  to 
repair  to  Chalmette,  and  to  report  to  the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps, 
to  which  it  had  been  assigned,  as  soon  as  relieved  by  a  certain  col 
ored  regiment.  On  the  3rd  of  March,  having  been  relieved,  the 
regiment  moved  into  the  square  immediately  opposite,  where,  hav 
ing  a  few  days  previously  been  supplied  with  shelter  tents,  a  camp 
was  established.  J.  J.  Mueller  was  relieved  on  the  4th.  The 
strength  of  the  company  was  now  as  follows:  Present,  66;  absent, 
11, — aggregate  77. 

By  this  time  it  was  authoritatively  known  that  the  Sixth  Regi 
ment  belonged  to  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  Six 
teenth  Army  Corps,  Major  (Jeneral  A.  J.  Smith  commanding. 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  31 


PART  5. 
SERVICES  IN  ALABAMA;    AND  CONCLUSION— 18G5. 

The  regiment  left  New  Orleans  on  the  6th  of  March  and  pro 
ceeded  along  the  river  six  miles  to  the  plain  of  Chalmette,  where 
at  a  point  a  little  below  the  old  battlefield,  and  exactly  opposite 
the  present  rebel  earthworks,  it  embarked  on  the  small  ocean  steam 
ship  Cromwell.  Lieutenant  Holl  and  wagoner  Henricks  did  not  go 
along  with  the  company.  This  was  a  wretched  voyage.  The  men 
were  packed  as  closely  as  negroes  on  a  slave-ship;  the  majority 
being  unable  to  get  more  than  sitting  room,  and  no  chance  to  lie 
at  full  length  for  sleep.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  the  troops  were 
landed  at  Fort  Gaines,  Alabama,  whence  they  marched  to  a  camp 
ing  ground  on  the  south  shore  of  the  island  (Dauphin)  about  two 
miles  west  of  the  fort. 

(•  Mahle  was  detached  to  serve  on  brigade  provost  guard  by  order 
issued  on  the  10th;  Knopf  and  Stengelin  rejoined  on  the  13th; 
and  Scheibel  was  detached  to  serve  in  the  Division  Pioneer  Com 
pany,  by  order  issued  on  the  17th. 

While  at  Dauphin  Island  the  system  of  company  cooking  was 
abandoned,  and  that  of  distributing  to  each  man  his  proportion 
of  the  rations,  for  disposal  at  will,  adopted  instead.  Company 
cooks,  consequently,  were  no  longer  required. 

Broke  camp  on  the  19th,  and  embarked  at  Fort  Gaines  on  a  gun 
boat  (tin  clad).  Lay  all  night  in  Navy  Cove  near  Fort  Morgan. 
Next  day  the  fleet  crossed  to  Fish  River  and  ascended  it  several 
miles  to  Dalney's  Mill  Landing,  on  the  west  side,  where  the  force 
disembarked  and  went  into  camp,  the  Second  Brigade  being  about 
a  mile  from  the  river  on  the  south  side  of  a  small  but  rapid  creek. 
While  at  this  place  breastworks  were  commenced  to  the  west,  but 
soon  discontinued.  Lieutenant  Holl  and  wagoner  Henricks  rejoined 
on  the  21st,  the  former  having  been  relieved  by  the  return  of  the 
regimental  quartermaster. 

On  the  25th  the  forward  march  of  the  troops  began,  and  eight 
miles  were  made.  The  next  day  the  Second  Brigade  was  in  front 
and  the  Sixth  Minnesota  was  detailed  for  skirmishing,  Company 
E  being  employed  to  cover  the  left  flank  of  the  brigade  while  inarch 
ing.  The  enemy's  skirmishers  hovered  in  front  the  whole  time  and 
an  incessant  fusillade  was  kept  up.  By  noon  the  creek  on  which 
Cyrus  Sibley's  house  and  mills  were  was  reached  and  crossed,  and 


HISTORY   OF   COMPANY  E, 

at  about  a  mile  beyond  the  company  was  halted,  and  remained,  with 
some  other  companies,  on  picket  there  the  whole  night.  The  en 
emy's  pickets  and  ours  were  often  in  view  of  each  other  and  ex 
changed  many  shots.  Next  morning,  the -27th,  the  rest  of  the  regi 
ment  moved  up  and  camped  there:  and  breastworks  were  thrown 
up  and  a  battery  stationed  on  the  right  flank.  On  the 28th  the  reg 
iment  fell  back  to  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  where  the  camp  of 
the  Second  Division  was  entrenched,  immediately  opposite  Sibley's 
house. 

Here  there  was  very  little  to  do  or  see,  but  time  enough  to  listen 
to  the  almost  continuous  cannonading  at  the  Spanish  Fort,  which 
however  soon  ceased  to  be  an  object  of  remark  except  when,  occa 
sionally,  the  rush  of  the  enormous  shells  from  the  rebel  gunboats 
drew7  every  one's  attention.  A  reconnoissance  on  the  Blakely  road, 
to  a  point  three  miles  out,  was  made  on  the  2nd  of  April  by  the 
brigade1.  Near  the  place  of  return  tw^o  torpedoes  were  exploded  by 
the  feet  of  the  horses  at  the  head  of  the  column.  On  the  same  day 
Klinghanimer,  who  had  been  arrested  on  Dauphin  Island,  for  very 
insubordinate  conduct,  and  subsequently  tried  by  court-martial, 
found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  one  year's  hard  labor  at  a  military 
prison,  was  turned  over  to  the  provost  marshal,  and  the  company 
saw  him  no  more. 

On  the  3rd  the  division  broke  camp  and  moved,  by  the  way  of 
Origen  Sibley's  mills,  to  the  front,  near  Blakely,  on  the  Tensas 
Eiver,  about  twelve  miles  from  Mobile,  taking  position  on  the  left 
of  the  Thirteenth  Corps,  which  had  appeared  before  the  enemy's 
defenses  there  a  few  days  previously. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  eastward  of  the  rebel  works  im 
mediately  defending  the  town  are  some  private  graves  among  the 
pine  trees,  apparently  the  commencement  of  a  cemetery,  but  with 
out  fencing  or  other  general  improvements.  The  tomb  of  one  of 
General  Marion's  men,  Godbold,  is  there;  and,  immediately  to  the 
north  of  it  a  couple  of  rods,  a  local  family,  the  Wilkinsons,  have  a 
little  plot  of  land,  about  fifteen  paces  square,  surrounded  by  a  low 
brick  wall. 

Here,  shortly  before  sunset  on  the  3rd  of  April,  the  brigade  en 
camped,  the  Sixth  Minnesota  being  a  couple  of  hundred  paces  dis 
tant  from  the  brick  graveyard,  to  the  east  and  southeast  of  it.  The 
troops  were  told  to  pitch  no  tents,  light  no  fires,  but  lie  on  their 
arms,  keep  as  quiet  as  possible,  and  await  further  orders.  It  was 
rumored  that  Hie  enemy's  works  were  to  be  stormed  that  night,  but 
we  were  not  disturbed.  The  musicians,  however,  were  called  out 
and  held  subject  to  the  surgeon's  orders.  Next  day,  the  4th,  tents 
were  pitched  and  the  usual  cam])  arrangements  recommenced,  ex 
cept  that  all  calls  were  discontinue  d  lest  the  sound  of  the  bugles 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 

and  drums  should  reach  the  enemy's  ears  and  guide  them  in  shelling 
our  camp. 

AVhile  here  a  large  detail  was  furnished  every  day  by  the  regi 
ment  for  duty  in  the  trenches  and  on  the  skirmish  line.  Before  sun 
rise  each  morning  the  soldiers  filed  off  through  the  gloomy  ravines 
to  their  posts  in  the  trenches  and  pits  of  the  advance,  some  half  a 
mile  away,  there  to  lie  and  exchange  shots  with  the  enemy,  and 
subject  to  their  shells,  till  relieved.  Fortunately  during  the  week 
spent  in  this  camp  not  a  man  of  the  company  was  injured,  and  it 
is  understood  that  but  two  casualties  (slight  wounds)  occurred  in 
the  regiment  the  whole  time  the  siege  of  Blakely  lasted.  On  two 
or  three  occasions  shells  reached  the  brigade  camp,  one  of  which 
cut  off  a  thick  pine  near  to  Godbold's  grave,  but  did  not  injure 
either  living  or  dead.  These  shots  were  provoked  by  men  climbing 
the  tall  pine  trees  to  get  sight  of  the  enemy's  works.  The  bombard 
ment  of  the  Spanish  Fort  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  was  very  plainly 
heard.  It  lasted  from  5:30  o'clock  to  7,  and  the  reports  averaged 
about  thirty  a  minute,  by  count. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  tents  were  struck  and  the  regi 
ment  left  camp,  knapsacks  packed,  at  4  o'clock,  and  moved  silently 
through  the  woods  to  the  line  of  trenches  used  by  the  reserve  of 
the  picket  guard,  and  there,  knapsacks  being  unslung  and  with 
other  impediments  piled  together,  the  men  were  stationed  to  await 
orders.  Immediately  to  the  right  of  the  Sixth  was  a  battery  and 
beyond  that  another  regiment,  also  posted  in  reserve;  and  on  the 
left  there  was  nothing.  From  this  position  to  the  enemy's  redoubts 
it  was  about  half  a  mile  in  a  direct  course  westward,  and  from  the 
advanced  skirmish  line  to  the  same  works  some  400  yards.  About 
5:15  p.  in.  the  various  batteries  of  the  Union  forces  opened  fire  upon 
the  enemy's  lines,  but  their  guns  did  not  reply  for  about  ten  min 
utes,  when  the  cannonading  became  brisk  on  both  sides,  lasting  until 
25  minutes  to  G;  the  battery  near  the  regiment  sharing  in  it.  Now 
it  ceased  suddenly  on  our  side,  and  in  its  place  were  heard  the  ring 
ing  cheers  of  the  soldiers  as  they  rose,  in  full  view  .of  the  reserves, 
from  their  trenches  in  the  front  and  rushed  towards  the  Confeder 
ate  fortifications.  By  0  o'clock  the  noise  of  the  cannon  had  ceased 
and  a  white  flag  was  visible,  which  told  of  the  enemy's  surrender; 
and  shortly  the  Stars  and  Stripes  superseded  it.  Thus,  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  Oth  of  April,  1865,  took  place  the  battle  of  Blakely,  which, 
like  that  of  New  Orleans  in  1815,  was  fought  after  the  necessity  for 
it  had  passed  away. 

The  regiment  returned  to  the  original  camp  for  the  night.  Next 
morning  it  crossed  the  battle  grounds  and  encamped  immediately 
within  the  former  hostile  earthworks,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  village,  but  remained  there  only  two  days,  returning  on 


34  HISTORY   OF   COMPANY   E, 

the  12th  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  cemetery.     Here  Ferlein,  un 
able  to  march,  was  left  behind. 

Without  the  men  having  any  idea  as  to  where  they  were  going, 
the  line  of  march  was  taken  up  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  April, 
but  a  fewT  hours  proved  that  it  wras  neither  to  Mobile  nor  to  Pen- 
sacola,  but  to  the  north,  showing  that  the  Sixteenth  Corps  was  on 
one  of  its  characteristic  marches  again.  The  strength  of  the  com 
pany  was  now:  Present,  63;  aggregate,  76.  For  over  sixty  miles 
the 'route  lay  through  pine  forests,  with  very  few  clearings;  and 
the  villages  then  successively  passed  were  Burnt  Corn.  Midway, 
Activity,  Greenville,  and  Sandy  Ridge.  Xo  enemy  was  seen,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  when  the  settled  country  was  reached,  every  house 
displayed  a  white  flag  or  cloth,  generally  with  the  wrords  "The  Union 
Forever"  on  it.  On  the  19th,  a  few  miles  south  of  Midway,  the 
official  news  of  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army  overtook  the  expedition ; 
and  at  camp  on  the  24th  the  rumor  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  not  at 
first  believed,  met  it.  For  thirteen  days,  to  the  25th,  the  troops 
marched  each  day,  arriving  then  at  a  stream  five  miles  south  of 
Montgomery,  having  traveled  a  distance  of  170  miles,  from  the  cem 
etery  near  Blakely.  The  26th  was  spent  in  camp,  to  rest  and  wash. 
On  the  27th  the  troops  moved  through  the  city, — the  cradle  of  the 
rebel  government, — and  encamped  beyond  it.  The  camp  of  the 
brigade  was  just  beyond  a  swamp  on  the  river  road,  about  two 
miles  northeastward  of  the  city.  From  the  26th  to  the  30th,  as  the 
transports  had  not  arrived,  the  soldiers  were  supplied  by  foraging 
parties  with  cornnieal,  supplies  of  fresh  beef,  and  a  little  bacon. 
F.  Henricks  and  Knopf,  sick,  were  sent  to  the  hospital  in  the  city, 
May  2nd.  Ferlein  rejoined  on  the  8th. 

On  the  18th  of  May  the  regimental  camp  was  moved  about  a 
mile  further  from  the  river,  nearly  to  the  Wetumka  road,  to  get 
higher  ground  and  purer  water.  Sergeant  Leitner  rejoined  on  the 
22nd.  Lieutenant  Holl  left  on  sick  furlough  on  the  25th.  Eberdt 
and  Gropel  rejoined  on  the  26th,  the  former  being  detailed  in  the 
band  on  the  29th.  On  the  31st  Sergeant  Steifel  was  honorably  dis 
charged  for  disability  contracted  while  in  the  service.  The  same 
day  a  review  of  the  Second  Division  took  place.  Private  Ferleiu 
was  honorably  discharged  on  the  1st  of  June,  his  term  of  service 
having  expired.  On  the  same  day  Mahle  and  Scheibel  rejoined, 
and  Huth  was  sent  to  the  hospital.  On  the  6th  soft  bread  was  is 
sued  for  the  first  time  in  three  months.  Jakob i  was  sent  to  the  hos 
pital  in  town  on  the  13th.  Sergeant  Huth  (in  hospital)  and  pri 
vates  Gantner  and  Parks  were  honorably  discharged  on  the  15th, 
their  terms  of  service  having  expired.  On  the  2.")th  Knieger  was 
sent  to  the  division  hospital  in  town.  The  same  day  Schermann 
died  of  disease.  He  was  buried  near  the  second  mile-post  on  the 


SIXTH   MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  35 

Wetuinka  road.  On  the  30th  Corporals  Sauer  and  Joseph  Smith 
were  promoted  fourth  and  filth  sergeants,  respectively,  and  J.  Muel 
ler  and  Blesius  seventh  and  eighth  corporals, — to  take  effect  on  the 
16th  of  June.  Knopf  rejoined  July  1st.  Private  Jakobi  was  hon 
orably  discharged  on  the  7th  for  disability  contracted  wThile  in  the 
service;  and  on  the  same  day  the  regiment  acted  as  guard  at  a  mili 
tary  execution.  Private  Schene  died  of  disease  on  the  8th,  and  was 
buried  in  the  city  cemetery.  Musician  Seidel  was  honorably  dis 
charged  on  the  9th,  his  term  of  service  having  expired.  He  was  the 
last  man  discharged  previous  to  the  general  mustering  out.  On  the 
13th  the  men  whose  terms  of  service  did  not  expire  before  the 
1st  of  October  were  transferred  to  and  ordered  to  join  the  Fifth 
Regiment;  those  from  Company  E  being  as  follows:  Bryan,  Fogle- 
sang,  Frank,  Hildebrandt,  Holtzmer,  I  wan,  Knopf,  Lieber,  and 
Troska.  While  at  Montgomery,  by  change  of  captains  in  Company 
D,  Company  E  became  the  first  in  rank,  its  appropriate  position  in 
regimental  line  being  the  first  on  the  right  flank,  with  Company  I 
on  the  left. 

After  much  weary  waiting  the  regiment  at  last  received  orders 
to  proceed  to  Vicksburg,  to  be  mustered  out,  and,  joyfully  striking- 
tents  for  the  last  time,  on  the  16th  embarked  on  the  steamer  Co 
quette  for  Selma,  which  place  was  reached  next  morning.  Here, 
instead  of  proceeding  at  once,  the  regiment  remained  three  days 
by  reason  of  change  of  opinions  in  regard  to  the  recruits  just 
transferred.  The  order  transferring  them  was  revoked,  and  they 
were  returned  to  their  companies  to  be  mustered  out  with  the  main 
body.  The  strength  of  Company  E  wTas  now  as  follows:  Present, 
66;  absent,  6, — aggregate,  62. 

On  the  20th,  left  Selma  by  railroad.  Reached  Demopolis  in  the 
afternoon,  and  descended  the  river  there,  on  a  steamboat,  four  miles 
to  the  continuation  of  the  railroad  on  the  west  bank,  which  place 
was  known  as  McDowell's  Landing.  Here  camped  for  the  night. 
The  next  day  arrived  at  Meridian,  Mississippi,  and  lay  there  over 
night,  and  on  the  day  after,  the  22nd,  arrived  at  Pearl  River  oppo 
site  Jackson.  Owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  bridge  over  this 
stream,  and  that  of  the  Big  Black,  there  was  a  gap  of  over  thirty 
miles  in  the  railroad  communication,  which  had  to  be  traversed  the 
best  way  possible.  Most  of  the  men  walked,  having  hired  teams 
for  their  things.  By  the  25th  nearly  all  of  the  regiment  had  ren 
dezvoused  on  the  west  side  of  the  Big  Black  River,  near  the  rail 
road.  The  next  day  took  cars  for  Vicksburg. 

The  regiment  was  nowr,  it  seems,  ordered  to  report  at  St.  Louis, 
and  accordingly,  on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  embarked  at  Vicksburg 
on  the  steamboat  Missouri  for  that  place.  Having  arrived  at  St. 
Louis  on  the  31st,  it  received  orders  to  proceed  to  Fort  Snelling, 


30 

and  on  the  1st  of  August  started  on  the  steamboat  Brilliant  for  St. 
Paul.  Private  W.  Smith  was  found  dead  in  his  plan-  on  the  deck- 
on  the  morning  of  August  3rd,  and  his  body  was  left  at  Burlington, 
Iowa,  for  interment.  On  the  7th  arrived  at  St.  Paul,  where  a  most 
cordial  reception  by  the  citizens  was  experienced,  and  after  being 
entertained  at  the  capitol,  re-embarked  and  went  to  Fort  Snelling. 
Here  Lieutenant  Holl,  and  F.  Henricks,  Krueger,  Schauer,  Simon, 
and  some  others  who  had  remained  at  Jackson,  rejoined. 

The  company  was  mustered  out,  writh  the  rest  of  the  regiment, 
on  the  19th  of  August,  at  the  fort.  Of  the  original  members  there 
were  now  discharged  47,  who  had  served  their  full  three  years.  Their 
names  were  as  follows,  viz.:  Bast,  Beckendorf,  J.  B.  Bell,  Besecke, 
Blesius,  Blessner,  Bristle,  Burch,  Detert,  Eberdt,  Gaheen;  Gold- 
ner,  Gropel,  Halm,  F.  Henricks,  H.  Henricks,  A.  J.  Hill,  Holl;  Hos- 
chied,  John,  Kernen,  Kilian,  Kraemer,  Krueger,  Leitner;  Mahle; 
Martin,  Metz,  M.  Mueckenhausen,  J.  J.  Mueller,  M.  Mueller,  G.  Paul 
son,  Praxl,  Radke,  Reimers,  Kohde,  Sauer,  Schafer,  Scheer,  Schei- 
bel,  Schoenemann,  Siebert,  Simon,  J.  Smith,  Sproesser,  Stengelin, 
and  Temme.  The  recruits  discharged  numbered  12,  and  were:  G. 
Bell,  Bryan,  Churchill,  Foglesang,  Frank,  Hildebiandt,  Holtzmer, 
I  wan,  Knopf,  Lieber,  Steinmann,  and  Troska. 


Although  the  foregoing  pages  are  but  a  history  of  one  company 
of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  yet  in  general  the. account  of  its  movements 
applies  generally  to  all. 

The  lot  of  this  regiment,  as  an  organization,  was  somewhat  pecul 
iar,  and,  in  respect  to  military  glory,  unfortunate.  It  boasts  of  no 
hard  won  victories,  laments  no  disheartening  defeats,  but  it  did 
faithfully  its  assigned  duty;  and,  in  so  doing,  deserved  well  of  the 
Republic. 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  37 


PART  G. 
TABLES  AND  STATISTICS. 

COMPOSITION    OF    ORIGINAL   COMPANY. 

Nationality:  82  men  were  of  German  blood,  4  born  in  North 
America;  4  of  American  (U.  S.);  4  of  Scandinavian;  2  of  French; 
1  of  Magyar;  and  1  of  British. 

KcliyioHs:  Proportion  of  Lutheran  and  Methodist,  25  per  cent.; 
Roman  Catholic,  19  per  cent.;  Rationalistic,  17  per  cent.;  and  39 
per  cent,  were  unclassified. 

Occupations:  Proportion  of  farmers,  30  per  cent.;  mechanics,  54 
per  cent.;  professional  men,  8  per  cent.;  and  miscellaneous  and  un 
known,  8  per  cent. 


STATISTICS   OF  DISEASE. 

Previous  to  the  summer  of  1864  the  health  of  the  regiment  had 
always  been  very  good.  At  the  time  of  the  departure  for  the  South 
the  proportion  of  sick  in  the  whole  company  was  under  5  per  cent., 
the  cases  being  mostly  of  a  trivial  nature.  The  following  table,  com 
piled  from  the  monthly  returns,  will  show  how  rapidly  the  ratio  in 
creased  during  the  sojourn  at  Helena: 

Whole  Number         Aggregate  Percentage 

D*y-  of  Sick.  of  Company.  of  8ick. 

June  30 10  84  12 

July  31 24  82  30 

August  31 41  78  52 

September  30 46  76  60 

October  31 30  81  37 

The  "daily"  and  "extra"  duty  men  would  swell  the  last  column 
somewhat  if  their  health  had  been  generally  reported,  but  it  is  not 
customary  to  enter  their  names  in  the  "sick"  book.  Every  man  of 
the  company  was  sick  at  one  time  or  another  while  in  the  South. 

The  poor  economy  of  sending  the  regiment  to  Helena  immedi 
ately  from  a  northern  climate  at  the  commencement  of  the  sum 
mer,  and  keeping  it  there  so  long,  is  plainly  seen  in  the  following 
calculation  (and  other  companies  showed  a  similar  state  of  things 
to  Company  E):  If  we  take  the  sum  of  the  "aggregates"  of  the 
morning  reports  during  each  month  the  product  is  the  maximum 


38  HISTORY   OF   COMPANY   E, 

number  of  days'  service  the  government  can  expect  for  that  period, 
but  which,  however,  it  really  never  gets.  By  similarly  adding  to 
gether  the  columns  of  "sick"  we  have  a  figure  representing  loss  of 
service,  and  which  should  be  within  reasonable  limits.  While  in 
Minnesota  this  loss  never  amounted  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
service  due,  and  generally  fluctuated  between  8  and  17.  In  a  space 
of  time  equal  to  and  immediately  preceding  the  time  spent  at 
Helena, — nineteen  weeks, — it  was  as  low  as  3  per  cent.;  while  there 
it  was  43;  and  for  the  same  length  of  time  immediately  after  leav 
ing  Helena,  it  was  23.  In  March,  18G5,  it  was  13;  in  April,  13; 
in  May,  18;  and  in  June,  27.  As  no  morning  reports  were  made 
after  the  middle  of  July,  the  figures  for  the  remainder  of  the  term 
of  service  cannot  be  obtained,  but  undoubtedly  they  would  result 
in  at  least  30  per  cent. 

The  number  of  deaths  occurring  while  in  Helena,  and  traceable 
to  disease  contracted  while  at  that  point  and  Montgomery,  is  13, 
equal  to  15  per  cent.,  or  nearly  one-sixth  of  the  whole  company. 


NUMERICAL  SUMMARIES. 

MEMBERS. 

Kesigned,  1;  transferred,  13;  discharged  previous  to  expiration 
of  service,  10;  died,  14;  deserted,  2;  missing,  1;  mustered  out  at 
expiration  of  service  in  June  and  July,  1.865,  5;  mustered  out  in 
corpore  August  19th,  1865,  59;  in  military  prison  and  unknown,  2. 
Total  number  of  members,  113. 

OCCUPATION  OF  TIME. 

En  route,  on  campaigns  and  expeditions,  177  days.  En  route, 
changing  stations,  68  days.  Stationary,  at  posts  and  barracks,  439 
days.  Stationary  in  camp7  412  days.  Total,  or  entire  term  of  serv 
ice,  3  years. 

DISTANCES  TRAVELED,   APPROXIMATELY. 

On  foot,  2,800  miles;  in  wagons,  100  miles;  by  steamboat,  4,235 
miles;  by  railroad,  865  miles.  Total,  8,000  miles. 

LIMITS  AND  EXTENT  OF  COUNTRY  TRAVERSED. 

Latitude:  From  47°  32',  at  Lake  Jessie,  D.  T..  approximate  po 
sition,  to  27°,  at  the  mouth  of  1he  Mississippi;  being  20°  32'  differ 
ence,  equal  to  1,416  statute  miles,  measured  on  a  meridian  lino. 


SIXTH  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  39 

Longitude:  From  86°  25',  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  to  100°  35',  at 
the  mouth  of  Apple  Kiver,  D.  T.,  approximate  position;  being  14° 
10'  difference,  equal  to  757  statute  miles  on  the  line  of  middle  lati 
tude. 

Greatest  included  right  line:  From  Lake  .Jessie,  D.  T.,  approxi 
mate  position,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi;  course  S.  21°  E., 
distance  1,372  miles. 

An  air  line  drawn  from  Montgomery,  Alabama,  the  last  station, 
to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  would  be  945  miles  in  length,  course  X.  N. 
W.  The  water  route  to  the  latter  place,  via  Mississippi  Sound  and 
New  Orleans,  is  about  2,350  miles;  while  that  actually  trayeled,  yia 
Vicksburg,  is  about  1,585  miles. 


LIEUT.  COL.  MARSHALL'S  RAID  INTO  DAKOTA— 1802.* 

BY 
CAPT.  CHARLES  J.   STEES. 

After  the  memorable  release  of  the  captives  at  Camp  Release, 
the  scouts  were  very  diligent  in  searching  out  and  locating  the 
numerous  small  bands  of  hostile  Indians  who  were  scattered 
through  the  country  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  camp.  Upon 
learning  that  there  wrere  several  lodges  of  Indians  to  the  west  ward 
in  the  vicinity  of  Wild  Goose  Nest  Lake,  General  Sibley,  under 
date  of  October  13th,  18G2,  directed  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall 
of  the  Seventh  Regiment  to  take  command  of  an  expedition  detailed 
to  capture  any  bands  to  be  found  along  the  upper  Lac  qui  Parle 
valley,  and,  if  necessary,  to  go  as  far  as  the  western  side  of  the  Co- 
teaus,  about  45  miles  distant. 

October  13th  (1802).  Cold,  windy  day.  Company  G  was  ordered 
to  be  ready  to  move  at  12  o'clock,  midnight,  with  six  days'  rations. 
The  men  thought  they  were  going  below  with  the  prisoners,  but 
were  disappointed  on  learning  that  we  were  off  on  an  Indian  hunt. 
The  expedition  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  consisted  of 
Company  G,  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  under  command  of  Captain 
Valentine;  100  men  of  the  Third  Regiment — 50  mounted — under 
Lieutenant  Swan;  Company  B,  Seventh  Regiment,  Captain  Curtis; 
a  mountain  howitzer  with  8  men  under  Sergeant  O'Shea;  Major 
Joseph  R,  Brown  and  4  scouts  (Bell,  Quinn,  and  2  Indians).  Left 
Camp  Release  at  10  p.  m.  for  the  Lac  qui  Parle  valley.  It  was  very 
cold  traveling,  so  much  so  that  the  water  froze  in  our  canteens. 

October  14th.  We  made  a  very  rapid  march  during  the  night. 
and  reached  the  Lac  qui  Parle  River  before  daybreak,  made  a 
bridge,  using  the  wagons  for  the  purpose,  and  all  crossed  over. 
Soon  after  passed  a  deserted  bark  village.  The  scouts  reported 
that  there  were  Indians  ahead  with  eight  ox  teams,  but  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  sky  and  prairie.  The  Indians,  discov 
ering  that  they  were  pursued,  now  fired  the  prairie  in  front  of  us 
with  the  evident  intention  of  retarding  our  movements  and  to  pre 
vent  our  horses  from  having  forage.  The  wind  being  high,  it  car- 


*From  the  journal  of  Charles  J.  Stees,  late  captain  of  Company  G,  Sixth  Regi 
ment,  Minnesota  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  formerly  major  of  the  Fourth  Regiment, 
Third  Brigade,  First  Division,  Pennsylvania  Infantry. 


LIEUT.    COL.    MARSHALL'S   RAID   INTO   DAKOTA.  41 

ried  the  burnt  dirt  and  ashes  along  in  clouds,  flying  into  our  eyes, 
and  they  became  very  painful  and  bloodshot.  Was  appointed  offi 
cer  of  the  guard  for  the  night,  and,  by  using  three  reliefs  of  15 
men  each,  dug  six  rifle-pits  for  the  protection  of  the  camp. 

October  loth.  Aroused  the  camp  at  4  o'clock,  struck  the  tents, 
and  was  on  the  march  by  6  a.  m.  Following  up  the  Lac  qui  Parle, 
at  10  o'clock  we  captured  four  prisoners, — an  Indian  warrior,  a  half- 
breed  boy,  and  two  squaws.  The  half-breed  was  a  son  of  Roubil- 
lard,  a  Frenchman  who  lived  back  of  us  in  St.  Paul,  in  1851.  I 
used  to  play  with  him.  He  speaks  French,  English,  and  Sioux,  and 
gave  us  much  information  about  what  we  were  after.  A  short 
distance  beyond  we  crossed  the  state  line  into  Dakota  Territory. 
"William  Wallace,  E.  J.  Van  Slyke,  and  I  visited  one  of  the  line 
posts,  which  was  marked,  "26  miles  from  Big  Stone  Lake"  (located 
about  8  miles  north  of  Gary,  South  Dakota);  and  the  other  three 
sides  were  marked  "Minnesota,"  "Dakota,"  and  "1859."  Wallace 
was  on  the  survey  and  helped  plant  the  post.  In  order  to  celebrate 
the  event,  each  of  us,  with  one  foot  in  Dakota  and  the  other  in  Min 
nesota,  shook  hands  together.  We  were  now  in  sight  of  Re  Wakan 
or  Spirits  Hill  (so  named  by  the  Dakotas).  Although  distant,  the 
appearance  of  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  as  they  loom  up  like  a  dark 
wall  against  the  clear  western  sky,  is  very  beautiful.  Halted  in  a 
hollow  for  a  lunch.  The  scouts  returned  and  reported  19  Indian 
lodges  ahead,  which  made  the  men  feel  joyful  at  the  prospect  of  a 
fight.  Marched  three  miles  further  and  camped  for  the  night  in  a 
beautiful  dell  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Lac  qui  Parle.  One  wagon 
and  six  Indians  were  brought  in.  Of  those  captured  up  to  this  time, 
the  young  men  were  held  as  prisoners,  and  the  squaws  and  children 
were  given  into  the  custody  of  the  old  men  and  ordered  to  report  at 
Camp  Release,  and  they  faithfully  followed  the  instructions. 

October  IGth.  During  the  night  wolves  wrere  howling  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  camp.  Left  camp  before  daylight  and  commenced 
ascending  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  the  highest  table-land  in  this 
section  of  the  United  States,  and  full  of  lakes.  A  chain  of  twenty 
or  more  lakes  could  be  seen  from  the  highest  point,  which  form  the 
headwaters  of  the  Lac  qui  Parle,  Yellow  Medicine,  and  Whetstone 
Rivers,  on  one  side,  and  furnish  many  tributary  streams  to  the  Big 
Sioux  on  the  west  side, — many  miles  of  land  and  bluffs,  prairies, 
and  lakes  seeming  as  not  ten  miles  distant.  At  various  points  we 
passed  through  fields  of  buffalo  bones.  Arrived  at  "Two  Lakes" 
(Mdi'-nonpana),  where  the  Indians  camped  last  night  and  left  a  sign 
indicating  that  they  had  moved  to  the  westward  two  days  previ 
ously.  In  order  to  overtake  them,  Colonel  Marshall  took  the 
mounted  men,  howitzer,  and  the  best  teams,  and  pushed  ahead, 
leaving  the  infantry  and  baggage  train,  under  command  of  Captain 


42  LIEUT.  COL.  MARSHALL'S  RAID  INTO  DAKOTA. 

Valentine,  to  follow  on  his  trail  and  camp  at  the  next  creek  for  the 
night,  with  instructions  to  continue  the  forward  movement  if  he 
did  not  return.  Instead  of  following  instructions^  Captain  Valen 
tine  crossed  the  creek,  and,  ascending  the  next  hill,  perceived  what 
appeared  to  be  a  beautiful  lake  a  few  miles  distant;  he  continued 
the  march,  intending  to  camp  there;  so  we  marched  and  marched, 
but  no  lake  appeared;  the  men,  worn  and  fatigued,  lagged  behind, 
gome. straggling  back  for  five  miles,  and  curses,  loud  and  deep,  were 
heard  on  every  hand, — the  lake  turned  out  to  be  a  mirage,  a  sight 
not  uncommon  in  this  region.  Failing  to  arrive  at  the  lake,  we 
finally  camped  in  the  prairie  grass,  without  wood  or  water;  and, 
the  rations  being  short,  we  went  to  sleep,  supperless,  after  march 
ing  until  10  o'clock  at  night. 

October  17th.  The  morning  found  us  camped  on  the  top  of  the 
Coteaus  with  no  sign  of  Colonel  Marshall  and  his  men.  Struck 
tents  before  daylight  and  were  on  the  march  without  breakfast. 
At  about  two  miles  from  the  last  camp  we  arrived  at  the  P>ig  Sioux 
River  (here  very  narrow,  with  marshy  banks),  and  halted  for  break 
fast  ;  but  there  was  no  feed  for  the  horses.  The  men  of  the  Third 
Regiment  dealt  out  their  last  crackers,  and  Company  G  had  one 
ration  of  flour,  sugar,  and  coffee.  Flour  mixed  with  water  and  fried 
in  fat  was  indeed  and  in  truth  a  great  luxury,  of  which  even  a  white 
plumed  knight  might  well  be  proud, — at  this  stage  of  the  game. 
The  expedition  was  now  four  days'  march  from  Camp  Release,  and 
the  provisions  were  all  gone.  The  scouts  returned  and  reported 
that  they  had  seen  "nothing  of  Marshall  or  any  other  man."  We 
again  resumed  the  march,  and  at  sundown  arrived  at  Hawk's  Nest 
Lake.  Here  we  met  Quinn  (the  scout),  and  some  mounted  men, 
who  brought  the  cheering  news  of  the  capture  of  150  Indians,  in 
cluding  34  warriors. 

On  leaving  the  main  body  of  the  expedition,  Colonel  Marshall  had 
moved  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  soon  after  midnight  on 
the  17th  overtook  and  surrounded  the  Indians,  who,  not  anticipat 
ing  such  an  event,  wrere  camped  dowrn  and  peacefully  enjoying  a 
good  night's  rest.  The  baying  of  their  dogs  was  the  first  intimation 
that  they  had  of  the  presence  of  the  troops.  The  scouts  informed 
them  that  they  would  not  be  harmed,  and  demanded  their  immedi 
ate  surrender^  which  was  complied  with.  A  few  of  the  younger 
men  attempted  to  get  away,  but  were  overtaken  and  all  made  pris 
oners.  By  this  capture  much  stolen  property,  in  the  way  of  goods, 
oxen,  horses,  and  wagons,  was  recovered.  Only  one  white  child 
was  found  among  them.  The  prisoners  (warriors)  were  brought  in 
under  guard,  their  weapons  having  been  taken  from  them,  and  they 
were  securely  tied.  Among  them  was  one  chief.  Wa-ka-mo-no  (Wa- 
kan-mane),  Spirit  Walker,  or  Walking  Spirit.  At  10  p.  m.  William 


LIEUT.  COL.  MARSHALL'S  RAID  INTO  DAKOTA.  43 

Quinn  and  two  mounted  men  were  dispatched  to  Camp  Release  to 
obtain  a  reinforcement  to  meet  the  expedition  with  provisions  and 
forage. 

In  honor  of  the  successful  termination  of  the  pursuit  and  cap 
ture  of  the  Indians,  Colonel  Marshall  changed  the  name  of  Hawk's 
Nest  Lake*  to  Captive  Lake.  The  lake  is  very  long,  \vinding,  and 
deep,  and  was  very  high,  trees  standing  in  the  water  12  feet  from 
the  shore.  Very  singularly  it  rises  and  falls  without  any  apparent 
assistance  from  the  rains  or  snows,  as  if  it  had  a  connection  with 
some  underground  system  of  streams. 

October  18th.  According  to  the  estimates  of  the  scouts  and 
others  we  were  about  120  miles  from  Camp  Release  and  25  miles 
from  James  River,  or  half  way  between  the  Big  Sioux  and  the 
James.  Left  Captive  Lake  bright  and  early,  and  halted  on  the 
Big  Sioux  for  dinner,  at  the  place  w7here  we  breakfasted  (?)  the  day 
previous.  Took  coffee  with  the  Third  Regiment.  At  the  request 
of  Major  Brown,  wre  took  his  sister-in-law7  (a  squaw  by  the  name  of 
Sinte,  the  wTife  of  Captain  James  Gorman  of  the  Renville  Rangers) 
into  our  wagon.  In  order  to  have  a  little  fun  as  a  side  diversion,  a 
race  with  our  mules  was  commenced,  the  tailor  George  driA'ing. 
His  position  wras  ludricous  as  he  drove  over  the  rough  ground, 
shaking  the  squaw  and  the  old  man  well.  Having  gotten  some  dis 
tance  ahead,  we  halted  at  a  creek  for  target  practice;  and  some 
good  shots  wrere  made. 

Homeward  bound,  as  viewed  from  a  high  ridge,  the  appearance 
of  our  train  wTas  romantic  and  picturesque.  The  Indian  warriors 
with  their  mounted  guard  were  in  the  advance,  and  then  the  in 
fantry  with  their  arms  and  bayonets  shining  brightly.  The  mounted 
men  with  their  Sharps  rifles,  contrasting  with  the  Spring- 
fields  carried  by  Company  G;  then  comes  the  "little  barker"  (the 
mountain  howitzer  on  wheels  in  a  wagon),  the  gunners  riding  along 
side;  then  our  teams  laden  with  camp  equipage,  tents,  kettles,  etc., 
the  whole  cavalcade  ending  with  the  Indian  camp  following  in  true 
Indian  style.  Ponies  loaded  almost  to  the  ground:  cows,  oxen 
and  wagons  the  same;  and  squaws  loaded  as  if  their  backs  w^ould 
break.  A  pretty  squaw,  with  a  snow-w7hite  blanket  around  her, 
is  perched  high  on  top  of  a  big  load  on  a  little  pony;  then  there  are 
other  ponies  with  papooses  on  their  backs,  followed  by  any  quan 
tity  of  dogs.  A  simple  strap  is  thrown  across  the  back  of  a  pony, 
ox,  or  cow,  supporting  the  ends  of  two  poles,  w^hile  the  other  ends 
drag  on  the  ground;  midway  between  the  ends  are  perched  the 

*This  lake  is  probably  the  most  eastern  one  of  the  two  lakes  now  known  as 
Twin  Lakes,  situated  in  township  118  north,  of  range  54  west,  in  Coddington 
county.  South  Dakota,  as  no  other  lake  in  this  region  corresponds  with  the  de 
scription.  Its  Dakota  name  is  Chan-nonpa  (Two  Wood  Lake),  and  that  of  the 
western  one  is  Tizaptona  (Five  Lodge  Lake).  "Wild  Goose  Nest"  (Magaiticage)  and 
"Hawk's  Nest"  (Hecaoti)  Lakes  are  "on  the  Minnesota  Coteaus."  and  not  over 
thirty  miles  west  of  the  state  line.— T.  H.  L. 


•*4  LIEUT.  COL.  MARSHALL'S  RAID  INTO  DAKOTA. 

teepee  skin,  camp  traps,  etc.,  and  on  top  of  the  whole  are  placed  the 
children,  who  are  riding  as  gaily  as  if  they  were  on  a  honeymoon; 
a  string  of  bells  around  the  pony's  neck,  with  the  bellowing  of  the 
cattle,  the  bright  blue  sky  above,  the  surrounding  hills  (some  black 
with  burnt  grass,  others  green  and  waving),  with  the  beautiful  lakes 
contrasted, — combined  to  make  it  one  of  the  strangest,  wildest,  and 
most  beautiful  and  romantic  pictures  I  ever  witnessed.  Camped  at 
sundown  on  a  creek  between  two  high  hills,  where  a  cow  wras  shot, 
— a  promise1  of  fresh  beef  for  to-morrow. 

Sunday,  October  19th.  It  was  cold  sleeping  last  night;  water 
frozen  in  canteen;  but  the  day  was  ushered  in  with  the  sun  shining 
bright.  Breaking  camp  in  the  valley  was  a  beautiful  sight,  as 
viewed  from  the  top  of  the  adjoining  hill, — fires  burning,  tents 
taken  down,  mounted  men  starting  off  at  a  brisk  trot.  Infantry 
looked  lively  and  cheerful  at  the  prospect  of  soon  greeting  their 
comrades  at  Camp  Release,  with  their  good  success,  prisoners, 
spoils,  etc.,  they  march  straight  up  the  hill,  while  the  teams  and 
"Moccasin  Train"  wind  around  the  sides  to  make  the  ascent  more 
easy.  Such  a  scene  as  here  witnessed  carries  one  back  to  the  days 
wrhen  he  read  fancy  sketches  of  such  expeditions  in  novels.  With 
a  party  of  friends  we  wTere  now  in  advance  of  the  train,  and  during 
the  day  shot  geese,  brant,  ducks  and  snipes.  It  was  indeed  a  grand 
sight  to  see  thousands  of  white  brant  flying  between  us  and  the 
burned  and  blackened  hills.  Arrived  at  our  old  camp  "Hollow''  at 
the  head  of  the  Lac  qui  Parle  at  3  p.  m., — one  hour  in  advance  of 
the  train, — and  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  cook  and  feast 
on  some  of  our  game.  The  train  arrived,  having  in  charge  more 
prisoners,  w7ho  had  been  out  hunting,  and,  on  returning  and  finding 
their  band  all  gone,  followed  our  trail  and  gave  themselves  up. 

October  20th.  More  Indians  joined  us  last  night;  they  attempt 
ed  to  slip  in  past  the  guard,  but  were  caught.  Struck  tents  at  day 
light  and  resumed  the  march,  crossing  the  line  into  Minnesota  at  10 
a.  m.  Met  the  relief  train  under  Quinn  at  11  a.  m.  After  leaving  Cap 
tive  Lake,  and  at  a  point  some  18  miles  distant,  William  Quiim's 
horse  gave  out,  and  was  abandoned.  He  walked  all  the  rest  of  the  way 
to  Camp  Release  beside  of  the  other  horses,  reaching  there  at  11 
o'clock  Saturday  night  (making  good  time).  He  took  a  short  nap, 
started  on  the  return  trip  Sunday  morning,  and  met  tin-  train  as 
above  stated.  He  brought  the  news  of  the  capture  of  23  more 
lodges  (G7  Indians)  near  the  lower  Lac  qui  Parle  by  Captain  Merri- 
man  and  a  detachment  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  who  took  them  to 
Camp  Release.  At  12  o'clock,  noon,  we  arrived  at  the  ramping 
place  first  used  on  our  outward  trip.  Took  dinner  with  the  artil 
lery.  The  prairie  took  fire  from  Company  G's  cook-fire,  making  us 
skedaddle  at  a  double-quick.  The  flames  spread  with  fearful  rapid- 


LIEUT.  COL.  MARSHALL'S  RAID  INTO  DAKOTA. 


ity,  causing  consternation  and  alarm,  and  inducing  the  moccasin 
train  to  move  at  a  lively  gait.  There  was  a  feeling  of  real  joy  when 
all  had  reached  burned  ground.  Quinn  now  led  us  by  a  newr  route. 
The  prairie  was  on  fire  all  around  us,  and  at  one  point  we  passed 
between  two  fires.  The  camp  for  the  night  was  established  on  a 
beautiful  spot  near  the  bank  of  the  Lac  qui  Parle  River.  Was  ap 
pointed  officer  of  the  guard. 

During  the  night  there  were  indications  of  the  prisoners  trying 
to  escape.  C.  J.  Pudheimer  and  Peter  Molitor  were  placed  as  sen 
tinels  on  the  top  of  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  near  the  camp.  The 
wind  was  blowing  at  a  30  or  35  mile  gait,  so  they  finally  took  post 
on  the  more  sheltered  slope  near  the  top.  About  11  p.  m.  an  Indian 
with  a  halter  in  his  hand  appeared  and  crossed  the  line  some  50 
feet  distant,  when  he  was  halted  by  Sudheimer,  who,  finding  that 
he  was  a  prisoner  trying  to  make  his  escape,  promptly  arrested  him. 
I  immediately  doubled  the  guard  and  had  all  the  prisoners  (war 
riors)  searched,  which  resulted  in  the  finding  of  a  pocket-knife, 
which  was  duly  confiscated.  The  job  of  searching  them  was  very 
disagreeable.  Ugh!  what  filth.  This  task  being  completed,  they 
were  securely  tied,  placed  in  a  Sibley  tent,  and  a  double  guard  sta 
tioned  over  them.  Visited  the  Indian  camp  with  George  Brown  to 
see  the  sights.  Found  them  in  their  teepees  spread  out  around  the 
fire,  which  was  located  in  the  center. 

October  21st.  Broke  camp  before  daybreak,  and  was  on  the 
march  before  sunrise.  The  day  proved  to  be  a  horrible  one,  the 
wind  blowing  a  perfect  hurricane;  the  black  dust  of  the  burnt 
prairie  filling  and  blinding  our  eyes,  the  lashes  on  which  the  dust 
accumulated  creating  a  cutting,  grinding  pain,  causing  us  to  suffer 
much  pain.  Being  near  our  journey's  end,  wre  moved  forward  as 
fast  as  it  was  possible  under  the  circumstances,  and  arrived  at 
Camp  Release  at  4  p.  m.,  where  wre  joined  our  comrades,  who  were 
very  glad  to  see  us.  But  our  arrival  did  not  improve  matters  so 
far  as  we  were  concerned,  for  the  camp  was  a  perfect  wreck, — 
tents  ripped  up  and  chimneys  blown  down.  There  was  not  much 
news  at  the  camp,  the  most  important  event  during  our  absence 
having  been  the  arrival  of  the  sutler,  on  which  occasion  nearly  all 
hands  got  tight,  with  the  result  that  one  colonel,  six  captains,  and 
any  quantity  of  lieutenants  were  put  under  arrest. 

With  all  our  forced  marches,  cold  nights,  windy  days,  and  fast 
ing,  the  trip  was  a  most  successful  one;  for,  besides  those  who  vol 
untarily  surrendered  themselves,  we  captured  39  men  and  100  women 
and  children,  not  to  mention  the  horses,  cattle,  wagons,  and  plunder, 
which  were  also  brought  in. 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED   AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(510)642-6753 
1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
Renewals    and    recharges    may    be    made    4    days 

prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


SEP  2  ^  19% 


20,000  (4/94) 


868635 


£$13" 
•  jr 


YC  51172 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


